Ahmed Al Kaabi, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Electricity, Water, and Future Energy Sector at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure (MoEI), inaugurated the Water Conference, hosted on the sidelines of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2025.
The event brought together global leaders to address the critical challenges facing governments and societies in arid countries around water and food security.
In his opening speech, Al Kaabi said, “Managing the resource nexus effectively is key to ensuring long-term sustainability and securing the world's water, energy, and food needs in the face of growing demand and climate challenges. The UAE is working toward addressing water-energy-food challenges through integrated resources planning, circular economy approaches, and investing in innovative solutions to ensure equitable access to water, energy, and food for its present and future generations.”
He added, “Given that global water needs have increased sharply to keep pace with population, food, and industrial growth, ensuring the sustainability of water resources has become more prominent on the international agenda. In the United Arab Emirates, water is one of the most important national priority issues due to the scarcity of natural water resources, and the high demand for water for development purposes.
"The current policies of the UAE’s water sector put an emphasis on the development of sustainable water supply sources, this is achieved through the expansion of membrane-based desalination technologies, increasing the use of renewable energy sources in the water sector, investments in technologies that increase water usage efficiency, enhancing non-revenue water cutback, and maximising the re-use of treated wastewater.”
Al Kaabi noted that the UAE’s Water Security Strategy and related programs focus on the readiness and sustainability of the whole water supply chain from production, distribution, demand side management and socioeconomics of the water sector.
He highlighted that as per recent annual statistics, the UAE total installed capacity of seawater desalination plants reaches 1,855 MIGD. While on the wastewater treatment side, the UAE treated 823 MCM with more than 70 percent water-reuse. The access to clean drinking water and adequate sanitation across the UAE is 100 percent.
He said, “The UAE achieved a high score of 83 percent in the implementation of Integrated Water Resources Management Index of SDG 6. We seek to improve this result in the coming years, by ensuring alignment and integration between the country’s water, energy, environment, and food strategies.
"At present, the UAE prepares to co-host the 2026 UN Water Conference with Senegal. The UN Conference aims to accelerate the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6 and enhance efforts to ensure the sustainable management of water resources. Such initiatives reflect the UAE’s commitment to facilitating dialogue and building partnerships to tackle water-related issues.”
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