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The UN 2023 Water Conference closed on Friday with the adoption of the Water Action Agenda, a “milestone” action plan containing almost 700 commitments to protect “humanity’s most precious global common good”.

An Azerbaijani delegation led by Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev represented the country at the conference held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from March 22 to 24.

Co-hosted by the Governments of Tajikistan and the Netherlands, the UN 2023 Water Conference – formally known as the United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Sustainable Development” 2018-2028, was a watershed moment to mobilize Member States, the UN system and stakeholders alike to take action and bring successful solutions to a global scale.

Lending multiple perspectives and expertise to navigate the challenges ahead, more than 2,000 government representatives, scientists, academics, civil society groups, indigenous peoples, members of the private sector, and youth delegates attended the conference.

The key objectives of the 2023 Conference for the Midterm Comprehensive Review of Implementation of the United Nations Decade for Action on Water and Sanitation (2018-2028), is to value and manage water better and take concerted action to achieve the internationally agreed water-related goals and targets, including those contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Highlighting the rise in water scarcity, climate-induced disasters, the speakers at the global conference called for transformational change to better manage aqua resources, underlining the environmental dimension and spotlighting national efforts.

“This conference demonstrated a central truth: as humanity’s most precious global common good, water unites us all, and it flows across a number of global challenges,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said.

“Without water, there can be no sustainable development,” Mr. Guterres said, thanking all stakeholders. “As we leave this historic conference, let’s re-commit to our common future. Let’s take the next steps in our journey to a water-secure future for all,” the UN chief added.

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