Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my honour and pleasure to join Minister Li Guoying, and Minister Mochamad Basuki Hadimuljono and all of friends at this important event.
Water serves as a critical resource for various sectors, including agriculture, energy, industry, trade, and urbanization.
Our food security, economic growth, education, gender equality, ecosystems and environmental protection all depend on water.
The availability and quality of water and sanitation services directly determine economic growth and productivity. Billions of jobs are water dependent.
Freshwater ecosystems serve every type of human activity, support all life on Earth, and cross national boundaries.
Yet, instead of protecting and sustainably managing this life-sustaining force, human activities including farming, mining, urban and industrial development, are causing globally notable changes to freshwater ecosystems.
Demand for water from the world’s increasing population has redefined natural landscapes into agricultural and urban land.
Global precipitation and temperature changes due to a warming climate are exacerbating the problem, impacting the quantity and quality of fresh water.
Data shows that we have veered significantly off course in our efforts to achieve SDG 6.
We need to act urgently, effectively, and collaboratively to address this dire situation.
The UN 2023 Water Conference offers us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to accelerate action towards water and sanitation for all.
The profound significance of water and its links with economy and ecology have been clearly recognized by delegations and stakeholders in their statements and discussions since yesterday.
We must build on the progress made over the past 20 years that has transformed the lives and livelihoods of billions of people by having their human right to water and sanitation fulfilled.
We must quadruple the rate of progress to achieve universal access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene, which will boost economic growth and lift more people out of poverty.
We must ensure effective coordination across sectors and borders through integrated plans to protect and restore freshwater ecosystems.
We must operationalize the Water-Economy-Ecology Nexus.
The Water Action Agenda will be a main outcome from the UN 2023 Water Conference. It will be instrumental in turning the political momentum into tangible and ambitious action to turbocharge progress.
As the Conference Secretary-General, I am confident that the UN Water Conference will be the start of a new era of stronger commitments and transformative actions, to be followed by the 18th World Water Congress in Beijing in September this year and the 10th World Water Forum in Bali in May next year, leading the way to the second half of the Water Action Decade.
We must always remember, every drop counts.
Thank you.