UAE highlights business role in tackling water scarcity
In Abu Dhabi, UAE Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability Abdullah Balalaa said that the private sector can play a key role in addressing the global water scarcity problem. He said this at a briefing dedicated to the third UN Water Conference, which will take place in the Emirati capital in December, The National reports.
According to Balalaa, water is the foundation of development and economic activity. He noted that the UAE has 100% coverage of safely managed water supply and sanitation services, but also faces water scarcity. The country is located in one of the world’s regions with the most acute water shortages and receives most of its water through desalination.
Funding gap
The official cited data showing that 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safely managed drinking water services. Another 3.4 billion people lack access to safely managed sanitation services, while 1.7 billion lack access to basic hygiene services at home.
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Balalaa noted that implementation of the UN’s sixth Sustainable Development Goal — ensuring the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030 — is already lagging behind schedule. According to him, international reports estimate the financing gap in the water sector at $6.7 trillion. Currently, governments and public capital account for 90% of total spending in this area.
Conference in Abu Dhabi
He called business involvement an opportunity to reduce the burden on public budgets while enabling the private sector to implement water projects. One of the conference’s six interactive discussions will focus on water investment, in line with its main theme, “Water and Investment.”
The 2026 UN Water Conference, co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal, will take place on December 8–10 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. The event will include the UN-sponsored Blue Zone and The Oasis zone, which will be led by the UAE. It will be the third UN Water Conference: the first was held in Argentina in 1977 and the second in New York in 2023.
