Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal bin Fadel Alibrahim is participating in the "Ensuring Access to Water" session held during the G20 Development Ministers' Meeting in Rio de Janeiro on July 22 and 23.
Speaking at the session, Alibrahim said that the scarcity of available freshwater resources and sanitation services hinders human development by causing severe health risks, including waterborne diseases, drought, and malnutrition.
The inability to access water imposes significant constraints on agriculture, affecting global food security.
Ensuring access to water and sanitation is not just a policy, but a human right, and one of the important Sustainable Development Goals.
The minister mentioned the establishment by the Kingdom of a global water organization, announced by His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Crown Prince and Prime Minister, which will serve as a global platform to coordinate efforts, exchange knowledge and best practices, provide funding, direct resources to the most critical projects, enhance partnerships between the public and private sectors, and improve the alignment of government policies by developing innovative solutions to global water access challenges.
He highlighted the need to prioritize water-related issues on the G20 agenda, continue the annual water dialogue initiated by the Kingdom during its presidency of the group in 2020, and leverage the Global Water Organization as a platform to ensure humanity is on the right track to guarantee universal access to water.