EUSR`s Opening Speech at the Dushanbe Water Conference

Excellencies, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

It is an honour to address you at a defining moment—just six months before the UN 2026 Water Conference in the UAE, where rhetoric must become action.

The EU stands firmly behind the Water Action Agenda, but let us be clear: the world is off track.

Water is vital for our economies, societies, and the planet. 

However, unsustainable management and the triple planetary crisis—climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution—are destabilising water systems, fuelling scarcity, disasters, and inequality. 

SDG 6 is in jeopardy—and with it, the prosperity and peace of millions.

Our response must be urgent, transformative, and united.

The EU’s priorities for the 2026 Water Conference are clear:

First, water must remain at the top of the global agenda. 

We must build on the 2023 UN Water Conference by accelerating implementation of the Water Action Agenda and the UN System-wide Strategy on Water and Sanitation.

We also need more coherent international cooperation. 

This is why the EU advocates for a permanent intergovernmental UN process on water, with regular conferences and stronger outcomes beyond 2028.

Water must be fully integrated into climate, biodiversity, and development frameworks, from the Rio Conventions to the post-2030 agenda.

Second, we must close the implementation gap.

We are accelerating SDG 6 through: 

promoting the human rights to water and sanitation, with focus on WASH in schools, hospitals, and crisis zones—because dignity is non-negotiable.

advancing integrated water management and the water-energy-food-ecosystems nexus, recognising that water security underpins all sustainable development.

and scaling up finance through Global Gateway to support resilient infrastructure and nature-based solutions—leaving no one behind.

As an example:

Regionally, we have joined forces under the Team Europe Initiative on water-energy and climate change in Central Asia.

Here in Tajikistan, the EU supports irrigation modernisation, rural drinking water access, and water sector reforms through financial, technical, and policy assistance.

We will further strengthen the water-agriculture nexus through the upcoming “Efficient Water Resilience” programme. 

We are also proud to support the Dushanbe Water Conference and reaffirm our commitment to transboundary solutions, resilient infrastructure, and SDG 6.

Third, transboundary cooperation is not optional.

Water conflicts are rising, and shared solutions for water security are critical.

The EU supports the globalisation of the UN Water Conventions and stronger basin organisations.

We urge all nations to join these frameworks—cooperation is the foundation of stability and peace.

And finally, science and inclusion must guide us. 

We need open data, robust monitoring, and meaningful participation from women, youth, and Indigenous communities.

The EU’s Water Resilience Strategy and Common Implementation Strategy demonstrate the value of collaborative governance, and we stand ready to share our experience.

Excellencies, we know what collective action can achieve.

Now we must deliver concrete results at the 2026 Conference: clear commitments, concrete financing, and strengthened cooperation.

The EU is your partner in this.

Water is our shared responsibility. Let us act—now.

Thank you.