Rome at the Heart of Euro-Mediterranean Water Dialogue: Leaders, Institutions and Businesses Unite for a Shared Water Future

"Water is an issue that cannot be tackled alone, and that is why we want to foster dialogue and joint action, especially in the Mediterranean."

With these words, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani opened the press conference presenting the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum, held on Friday the 18th in the Sala Aldo Moro at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation - MAECI, alongside Maria Spena, President of the One Water Committee Italy, and Marco Rago, MAECI Special Envoy for International Water Policies.

The event will begin on Tuesday, September 29, with the Opening Ceremony scheduled at the Auditorium Mare Nostrum. Institutional greetings will be delivered by, among others, Roberto Gualtieri, Mayor of Rome; Antonio Tajani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; Qu Dongyu, Director-General of FAO; Khaled El-Enany, Director-General of UNESCO; Fadi Hajali, Acting Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean; and Retno L.P. Marsudi, United Nations Special Envoy for Water. The closing remarks of the ceremony will be entrusted to Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Minister of the Environment and Energy Security.

Other notable figures expected during the Forum include, for Italy, Nello Musumeci, Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies; Anna Maria Bernini, Minister of University and Research; Paolo Zangrillo, Minister for Public Administration; Francesco Lollobrigida, Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry; Vannia Gava, Deputy Minister of the Environment and Energy Security; and Francesco Rocca, President of the Lazio Region. On the international front, attendees will include Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates; Abdulaziz Al Shaibani, Deputy Minister for Water, and Mansour Al Mushaiti, Deputy Minister of Environment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Hani Sewilam, Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of Egypt; Sari Essayah, Minister of Agriculture and Forestry of Finland; and Catherine Chabaud, Minister of the Sea and Fisheries of France.

Figures from international organizations will also include Alvaro Lario, President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Chair of UN-Water; Marcos Neto, Assistant Director-General of UNDP; Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation; and Francesca Bernardini, Head of the Transboundary Cooperation Section of UNECE. Representing key Euro-Mediterranean organizations will be Fadi Hajali, Acting Secretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean, and Joan Borrell, Deputy Secretary General of the UfM; Alain Meyssonnier, President of the Mediterranean Water Institute; Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, President of the Arab Water Council; and Fadi Comair, Vice President of the Mediterranean Water Institute.

The Forum will also host the CEO Water Summit, bringing together CEOs and institutional leaders to discuss concrete commitments and objectives that businesses and institutions can undertake locally to improve resource management.
Concurrently with the Forum, Utilitalia's Water Festival—the premier national event dedicated to the integrated water service—will take place, offering an additional space for dialogue between institutions, operators, and managers to address the sector's transformations and major challenges.

"With the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum, Rome is becoming, for a few days, a place where institutions, businesses, international organizations, and civil society can come together to discuss one of the great challenges of our time," stated Maria Spena, President of the Italian One Water Committee. "Water is a strategic element for the security, competitiveness, and resilience of our territories. The Mediterranean is one of the regions most exposed to the effects of the climate crisis, and precisely for this reason, it requires increasingly strong cooperation. The Forum was born with the ambition to foster this dialogue and transform it into a platform for discussion and collaboration, pooling experiences, expertise, and solutions."