{"id":3568,"date":"2025-06-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/news\/global-water-leaders-convene-ahead-of-g20-to-mobilise-finance-and-action\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T16:12:21","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:12:21","slug":"global-water-leaders-convene-ahead-of-g20-to-mobilise-finance-and-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/news\/global-water-leaders-convene-ahead-of-g20-to-mobilise-finance-and-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Water Leaders Convene Ahead of G20 to Mobilise Finance and Action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The need to address the deepening global water crisis moved water sector leaders and policy makers to convene for a High-Level Leaders Water Dialogue, taking place ahead of the 2025 G20 Summit. The Dialogue provided a platform for sending out a united call in global efforts to treat water not as an afterthought, but as a central pillar of climate resilience, economic stability, and sustainable development.<\/p>\n

Held simultaneously in Stockholm, Sweden, and Pretoria, South Africa, this high-level dialogue laid the groundwork for the launch of the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments\u2014a visionary initiative designed to unite Heads of State, financial leaders, and development champions to close the USD 114 billion annual gap in water infrastructure and services financing.<\/p>\n

\"H.E.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater is not a side issue. It is central to our collective future,\u201d said H.E. Jakaya Kikwete, Former President of Tanzania, Chair of GWPSA, and Co-Chair of the newly established Global Outlook Council on Water. \u201cWe must stop treating it as a development afterthought\u2014and start financing it as the engine of resilience, climate action, food security, and long-term global prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Wake-Up Call to the Global Community<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over two billion people still lack access to safely managed drinking water, while nearly half the global population faces severe water stress. Despite the urgency, water receives less than 1% of climate finance, even as water-related disasters account for 90% of climate-related catastrophes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not just a gap\u2014it\u2019s a global failure in priorities,\u201d emphasised Kikwete. \u201cLet us not be remembered for the warnings we ignored, but for the infrastructure we built, the partnerships we forged, the communities we empowered, and the water-secure world we delivered for future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dialogue is showcasing transformative water solutions that align with G20 development priorities and is spotlighting the upcoming Africa Water Investment Summit, scheduled for 13 – 15th August 2025 in Cape Town, under South Africa\u2019s G20 presidency. The Summit aims to mobilise at least USD 30 billion annually for water and sanitation investment across Africa.<\/p>\n

\"H.E.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfrica must not be forgotten in the water action agenda,\u201d urged H.E. Retno Marsudi, UN Special Envoy on Water. \u201cWater investment must benefit African nations and be embedded across all sectors: climate, food, health, gender, and education.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

From Fragmentation to Partnerships & Collaboration<\/strong><\/p>\n

A key feature of the dialogue is a call for coherence in global water governance. With overlapping efforts and siloed initiatives, leaders are calling for alignment.<\/p>\n

\"Henk<\/p>\n

\u201cFragmentation is our biggest risk,\u201d warned Mr. Henk Ovink, Executive Director of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water. \u201cNow is the time to align towards a single water mission and a unified global agenda. Water must be seen as a global governance challenge, not a siloed issue. We need to rethink how we govern and revalue the water cycle\u2014economically, socially, and environmentally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dr.<\/p>\n

Dr. Stefan Uhlenbrook of the WMO added that \u201cwe can\u2019t manage what we don\u2019t measure,\u201d underscoring the need to invest in hydrological data and early warning systems to unlock bankable water projects. WMO\u2019s latest water report shows a planet under stress, and according to Dr. Uhlenbrook, the solution begins with data-informed water investments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout quality water data, bankable projects stall,\u201d he said. \u201cInvesting in monitoring and data must come first. WMO stands ready to support the global push for water security. From monitoring to early warnings, our work helps protect societies and ecosystems and turn data into impact.<\/p>\n

Mr. P\u00e9ter Kov\u00e1cs, Water Director, General Directorate of Water Management in Hungary, concurred with his colleagues, saying water solutions exist and it’s time for stronger partnerships, better project pipelines, and bold cooperation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe future of water is built on science, not guesswork. Let\u2019s invest in evidence-based projects, data-driven systems, and regional collaboration to transform outcomes. Science, political will and cross-border cooperation are the only way forward,\u201d said Kov\u00e1cs.<\/p>\n

Ms. Ildiko Ipolyi, Regional Coordinator of Global Water Partnership for Central & Eastern Europe, said the region was stepping up with strong networks, research capacity, and integrated water governance. She said the region is driving solutions that align with global water goals.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater is a finite resource\u2014but integrated water management ensures it\u2019s used sustainably. Central & Eastern European countries are proving how science, youth inclusion, and policy can work together to close the water investment gap,\u201d Ms. Ipolyi.<\/p>\n


Cape Town: A Global Symbol of Water Risk and Resilience<\/strong><\/p>\n

The City of Cape Town is being held up as a model of innovation and resilience following its near-disastrous \u201cDay Zero\u201d crisis in 2018.<\/p>\n

\u201cCape Town is living proof of climate change since the city’s reliance on surface water has been severely affected since 2015,\u201d said Leonardo Manus, who is leading Cape Town\u2019s Water & Sanitation transformation. \u201cThe city\u2019s relationship with wastewater changed dramatically\u2014now, it’s regarded as a valuable resource. Cape Town\u2019s crisis taught us to think differently about risk, water, and resilience. Engineers, scientists, and policymakers now sit at one table. \u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A United Call to Action<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a key outcome of the dialogue, the GWPO has issued a United Call for Global Water Investment Leadership\u2014a shared political appeal to governments, banks, businesses, and philanthropies to scale investments, align financing frameworks, and build national water project pipelines.<\/p>\n

On 2 June 2025, GWPO opens its intergovernmental MoU for new signatures. This is more than joining a network \u2014 it\u2019s co-steering a global alliance for water investments and resilience.<\/p>\n

\"Hon.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the first time in 20+ years, the Global Water Partnership is issuing a United Call for Global Water Investment Leadership \u2014 not just a statement, but a shared political appeal to treat water as a driver of stability and resilience. The United Call is a historic moment to lead, not observe. This isn\u2019t just about water. It\u2019s about lives, economies, and ecosystems,\u201d said Hon. Pablo Bereciartua, Minister of Infrastructure for the City of Buenos Aires – Argentina and Chair of GWP.<\/p>\n

With support from the G20, COP30, UN Water 2026, and other global forums, the Global Outlook Council aims to drive a long-overdue transformation in how the world values, funds, and governs water.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Global Transformation Agenda is more than a vision\u2014it is a concrete framework to turn global water fragmentation into focus, pledges into pipelines, and ambition into measurable progress toward SDG 6 and beyond,\u201d concluded H.E. Jakaya Kikwete.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Global Water Partnership and the World Meteorological Organization on Thursday, 22 May 2025, hosted a High-Level Dialogue in the context of the G20 to serve as a foundational consultation toward the establishment of the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments. Global Water Partnership Southern Africa, which is the GWP Africa Hub, co-hosted the Dialogue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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Global Water Partnership and the World Meteorological Organization on Thursday, 22 May 2025, hosted a High-Level Dialogue in the context of the G20 to serve as a foundational consultation toward the establishment of the Global Outlook Council on Water Investments. Global Water Partnership Southern Africa, which is the GWP Africa Hub, co-hosted the Dialogue.","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3568"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4382,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3568\/revisions\/4382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5288"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gwpo-gwp.org\/southern-africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}