Jusoor Post at the 4th Arab Water Conference

The Fourth Arab Water Conference was officially held over two days from November 30 to December 1 at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo.

“Arab Water Security for Life, Development, and Peace” was the theme of the conference, which was organized by Palestine and sponsored by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and the ministries of irrigation and water resources, as well as representatives from other Arab nations. The conference was attended by experts and decision-makers.

The conference was also sponsored by the Palestinian Water Authority, Arab Ministerial Water Council, and Arab Water Expert Network.

Arab water security and recommendations

According to the Fourth Arab Water Conference's official website, the forum aims to establish a platform to develop solutions for the most challenging problems and to set recommendations. Additionally, the conference aims to strengthen transboundary water cooperation in accordance with the Sixth Sustainable Development Goal (SDG6), the Egyptian Gazette reported.

The Palestinian president said during a speech on the first day of the conference that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) should be the subject of a legally-binding agreement between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia. Abbas also emphasized that Palestine supports Egypt and Sudan's rights for assurances that their water will not be compromised, according to Ahram Online.

Throughout fifteen sessions about water scarcity, alternative water resources, irrigation, climate change, and drought, ministers, senior officials, experts, academics, and civil community discussed means to address water scarcity in the region and challenges that confront sustainable development in the Arab countries.

The closing sessions concluded with seventeen recommendations, among which are: prioritizing the management of water, studying future risks, increasing diplomatic cooperation, using alternative water resources, implementing the 2030 agenda, building capacities, and water desalination and treatment.

Perspective of Attendees

Dr. Hazem Kamal Saleh Al-Nasser, former minister of water and irrigation in Jordan, told Jusoor Post that the fourth round of this conference included a new program and work agenda regarding the Arab water sector.

“The sessions discussed many aspects of the water sector such as water desalination, management of groundwater, and the use of transboundary watercourses,” Al-Nasser said.

He added that the closing session of the conference provided many outcomes and recommendations that aim at promoting the Arab water sector and providing solutions to water issues.

From Britain, Shaminder Puri, director of the Think Tank Center for Sustainable Solution in Practical Hydrogeology, told Jusoor Post that he has travelled to many Arab countries but this was his first time to attend a ministerial meeting, adding that the conference was very organized and that the commitment of the ministers to water management, security issues and scarcity is quite strong.

“I hope that some measures will be taken from here, but in the wider sense, I think that Arab countries perhaps need to consider their approach to what they need to achieve on the global stage,” Puri said.

“It is time to make a strong and united presence at the UN 2023 Water Conference and also to take forward the findings of the COP27 that took place in Sharm El-Sheikh,” added.

Puri emphasized that if there is anywhere in the world that is need of adapting to the circumstances of the availability of water, then it is generally the Arab region.