PUTRAJAYA, March 23 — Malaysia is participating in the United Nations (UN) 2023 Water Conference in New York, the United States, to show the country’s commitment to water management and highlight action for water adaptation and resilience specifically in dealing with flood issues.
The Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change (NRECC) said a national delegation, led by Minister of Natural Resources, Environment and Climate Change Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, is attending the three-day conference which began yesterday.
“Malaysia is responding to the UN’s call to the Decade of Water Action 2018 to 2028 by sending the delegation to the conference,” NRECC said in a statement today.
The UN 2023 Water Conference 2023 is the highest platform to achieve water-related goals where the direction and priorities of the world will be set to improve the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 related to clean water and sanitation.
NRECC said Malaysia’s participation in the conference is also to ensure continuity of the multilateral water agenda in other forums such as the High-Level Political Forum for Sustainable Development (HLPF) which will take place in New York, United States from July 10 to July 19.
According to the statement, Nik Nazmi will also hold meetings with his counterparts from the United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and South Korea to discuss ways to improve cooperation, especially in the field of water management through smart partnerships and strategic cooperation.
In the same statement, Nik Nazmi said Malaysia welcomes the UN’s efforts to seriously discuss global issues related to water.
“The climate change crisis is a water crisis as most impacts of climate change come down to water, and the actions outlined in the UN framework is connected to water.
“Malaysia’s participation will ensure the relationship between water and actions on climate change, the environment, resilience, health, socioeconomics and the national development agenda are given attention,” he said.
— Bernama
