GENEVA: Cooperation across borders on shared water resources can help avert conflicts and build peace, the United Nations said Friday, urging all countries to join its Water Convention.
The UN stressed that with climate change and rising water scarcity worldwide, cross-border water cooperation was increasingly crucial for regional stability and conflict prevention.
"Water and peace are very closely inter-related," Sonja Koeppel, Secretary of the UN Water Convention, told AFP.
She pointed out that more than 60 percent of all freshwater resources are shared by two or more countries, including major rivers like the Rhine and the Danube in Europe, the Mekong in Asia, the Nile in Africa and the Amazon in Latin America.
"Cooperating over those waters is crucial for peace, for development for climate action," she said.
Water is such a vital resource, she said, that it has the power to bring countries in conflict to the table, opening the door to cooperation in other areas as well.
India and Pakistan for instance have a cooperation agreement on use of the Indus river.
And an agreement reached by Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea and The Gambia in the 1970s over the Senegal Basin has enabled them jointly to finance and build infrastructure that distributes water to all four countries.
Even when political tensions reign between the countries, Koeppel said, "this cooperation has continued to exist".
A total of 153 countries around the world share water resources, but only 24 of those have signed onto various cooperation agreements covering all of their shared water, UN chief Antonio Guterres pointed out in a statement marking World Water Day on Friday.
"We must accelerate efforts to work together across borders, and I urge all countries to join and implement the United Nations Water Convention," he said.
"Action for water is action for peace."
The convention was established in 1992 to help foster responsible joint management of water resources in the European region, but opened up in 2016 to countries around the world.
Currently it counts 52 state parties, mainly in Europe, Asia and Africa.
Koeppel said the convention was a vital tool to instigate more cross-border water cooperation, but also to help countries to navigate complex situations and resolve disputes.
"It is complicated for countries to cooperate especially in situations of water scarcity or floods or in case of accidental water pollution," she said.
The convention can help countries to use their shared resources "peacefully and sustainably to protect the environment and to jointly adapt to climate change", she said.
She hailed "huge momentum" in Africa for joining the convention, with nine countries now parties to the agreement, and around a dozen others in the process of joining.
But other regions need to catch up.
When Panama joined last year, it became the sole member state in the Americas, a region with "many water challenges", Koeppel said.
And Iraq last year also became the first member state in the Middle East -- one of the most water-stressed, and conflict-plagued, regions in the world.
Koeppel suggested that more cooperation on water in the Middle East could help ease tensions overall.
"Based on examples from other parts of the world," she said, "we can see how water has had a ripple effect to promote regional integration and sustainable development and climate action more broadly".
UN urges more water cooperation to build peace
https://arab.news/gcfft
UN urges more water cooperation to build peace
- A total of 153 countries around the world share water resources, but only 24 of those have signed onto various agreements
- Nuclear-armed South Asian neighbors India and Pakistan for instance have a cooperation agreement on use of the Indus river
Pakistan, Qatar discuss Afghanistan situation, urge dialogue for regional stability
- The development comes amid renewed Islamabad-Kabul tensions after last week’s Pakistani airstrikes inside Afghanistan
- Qatar, along with other states, helped mediate a ceasefire between the neighbors following weeklong skirmishes in Oct.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Qatar’s Deputy PM Sheikh Saoud Al-Thani on Tuesday discussed the situation in Afghanistan and called for dialogue to promote regional stability during high-level talks held in Doha, Sharif’s office said.
The development comes amid renewed tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan after Islamabad conducted airstrikes on what it said were Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) targets in Afghanistan last week. Kabul said the strikes killed civilians and vowed to respond to the violation of its sovereignty.
This is the second time in less than six months that Pakistan has conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan. The last strikes triggered heavy, weeklong clashes between the neighbors along their border before Qatar and Turkiye mediated a ceasefire between them in Oct. last year.
During their meeting in Doha, PM Sharif and Qatari Deputy PM Sheikh Saoud Al-Thani, who is also the state minister for defense affairs, discussed defense and security relations between the two countries, according to Sharif’s office.
“Regional developments were also discussed, in particular the situation in Iran and Afghanistan,” Sharif’s office said in a statement. “Both sides emphasized the importance of dialogue, de-escalation and collective efforts to promote peace and stability in the region.”
Sheikh Saoud appreciated the professionalism and expertise of the Pakistani armed forces and conveyed Qatar’s interest in deepening defense partnership between the two countries, according to the statement.
The Pakistan premier expressed satisfaction over the ongoing collaboration and underscored Islamabad’s commitment to further expanding defense collaboration.
Separately, Sharif held meetings with Qatar’s State Minister for Trade Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed and a delegation of the Qatar Businessmen Association (QBA).
During his meeting with the Qatari trade minister, the two sides reviewed bilateral trade and economic cooperation and expressed satisfaction over the growing momentum in Pakistan–Qatar relations.
“The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of enhancing bilateral trade volumes and diversifying Pakistan’s exports to Qatar, particularly in agricultural products, food items and value-added goods,” the Pakistani information ministry said.
Pakistan has been seeking closer economic engagement with Gulf partners amid its broader push to stabilize the economy and attract investment, while maintaining security and defense cooperation with key regional states.
Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s investment-friendly reforms and the role of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC) in facilitating foreign investment, according to the Pakistani information ministry.
Dr. Al-Sayed, who is also the chairman of Pak-Qatar joint business taskforce, reiterated Qatar’s interest in expanding economic cooperation and strengthening private-sector and business linkages between the two countries.
“The two sides also agreed to convene a meeting of the task force comprising relevant officials of both countries, within the month of Ramadan, to discuss concrete investment proposals for Qatari investment in Pakistan,” it added.
In his meeting with QBA delegates, Sharif highlighted Pakistan’s improving macroeconomic indicators and invited QBA members to explore opportunities in infrastructure, logistics, energy, agriculture, technology and export-oriented manufacturing.
Sharif is also scheduled to meet Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Doha today, Tuesday, to discuss ways to further strengthen bilateral relations, Sharif’s office said.
“Discussions will take place on further strengthening bilateral relations,” it added.
