Egypt and Germany have discussed a proposed “Water House” framework aimed at bringing key initiatives and practical outcomes from the 2026 UN Water Conference under a common structure, with Cairo calling for a limited number of implementable flagship initiatives rather than a broad collection of proposals.
Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam discussed the proposal with Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary at Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, as part of preparations for the conference.
Sewilam said preparations had moved beyond the conference itself to focus on implementation, follow-up and the future role of water within the multilateral system.
He called for a coherent process linking the 2023 UN Water Conference in New York with the 2026 conference in Abu Dhabi and the 2028 UN Water Conference in Dushanbe and beyond.
The two sides discussed the “Water House” proposal put forward by Germany and Mexico as an umbrella framework for some of the conference’s main outcomes.
Sewilam said the framework should be built around a limited number of credible flagship initiatives emerging from the conference’s interactive dialogues, with clear mechanisms for implementation and follow-up.
The “Water for the Planet” interactive dialogue, which Egypt is co-chairing, has already received several proposed flagship initiatives that are being evaluated, he said.
One proposal involves developing a roadmap to systematically integrate water into the implementation of the three Rio Conventions on climate change, biodiversity and desertification, potentially linking outcomes from several of the conference’s dialogues.
Sewilam said the immediate priority was to ensure that the 2026 conference delivers concrete and implementable outcomes, supported by a clear follow-up structure that could provide a foundation for the 2028 conference.
Cairo Water Week will host a high-level session on the UN Water Conference on October 26, bringing together the co-chairs of the interactive dialogues to review preparations and discuss emerging initiatives with the international water community.
