Dear guests,

Albania is pleased to join the co-organizers in this side event on such an important topic.  Water is an essential part of human life.  Water is a crucial factor in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as for the health and prosperity of people and planet. Managing water and sanitation is an essential solution to tackling major pressing global challenges like climate change, affordable and clean energy, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, disease pandemics and epidemics, disasters caused by natural hazards, conflict, extreme poverty, and gender inequality. Lack of progress on SDG 6 and other water-related targets can even threaten hard-won development gains in other areas.

Although humanity recognizes of the importance of water, guaranteeing safe access to drinking water and sanitation seems to be not an easy task for our generation and remains an immediate challenge, as the reality still stands on: “Too little, too much, and too dirty water”.

As UN MS, our common goal should be to urgently tackle the water crisis and set the world on track to achieving SDG 6.

Colleagues,

I come from a country rich in water and with vast natural areas of high ecological value. However, challenges remain to address trade-offs across sectors that require water as well as to fully capture synergies among them. Albania is almost completely dependent on hydropower for the domestic production of electricity and more hydropower plants are yet planned to be built. This makes our energy sector exceptionally vulnerable to droughts and to the expected impacts of climate change.

The national strategy of integrated management of water resources 2018-2027 has five strategic objectives including the sustainable use of water resources, the attainment of good water quality in all water resources by the year 2027, disaster risk reduction and management for drought and floods, increase of sound scientific knowledge on water and climate issues, and application of inclusive and sustainable water management practices that yield equitable profits to all involved stakeholders.

Colleagues,

The Bandung Spirit tells us that the human rights to water and sanitation must be always fulfilled. We need to use the power of the youth in elevating the human right to water to the highest priority and taking immediate action to combat weaponization of water in the international community.

The UN Water Conferences in 2026 will be another milestone moment for the world to carry this work forward and a critical opportunity to discuss solutions around water and sanitation, disaster risk reduction, governance, finance and innovation.  Only together can we ensure that sustainable water management is not just an aspiration, but a global reality.

For successful implementation of SDG 6, Member States and the United Nations system must coordinate and respond effectively.

We hope the discussions today will intensify our action to gain momentum on SDG 6 progress and implementation and reiterate our commitment to working for the protection and preservation of people and planet through bold actions by, of, and for water.

I thank you.