PRESS RELEASE

COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA TEAM OF THE 10^TH WORLD WATER FORUM

NO.99/SP/TKM-WORLDWATERFORUM2024/05/2024

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The Long Road of Indonesia’s Hydro-diplomacy Towards the 10^th World Water Forum

The 10^th World Water Forum in Bali is Indonesia’s hydro-diplomacy achievement on the global water issue. It has not been a walk in the park, as this diplomatic effort had to undergo a long journey before resulting in a draft Ministerial Declaration at the forum that will be held until 25 May 2024.  

“Through a very difficult process, the Ministerial Declaration was consulted three times at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, including the initial discussion that was attended by more than 100 countries with various interests, which sometimes conflict with each other,” said Tri Tharyat, Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Director General for Multilateral Cooperation, in Badung, Bali, Sunday, 19 May.

The Ministerial Declaration consultation was tough due to different opinions among upstream and downstream countries. “Amidst the discussion, there were so many issues, not only ecological but also political. It was extremely difficult to reach an agreement,” Tri Tharyat said.

Nevertheless, with its diplomatic skill, the Indonesian Government succeeded in achieving a consensus for the declaration that will officially be approved on 21 May.

As the host of the 10th World Water Forum, Indonesia is striving to achieve four main things. First, an international agreement through the UN General Assembly on World Lake Day will become an important legacy of the 10th World Water Forum because there has not been much attention paid to the issue of lake management.

“We hope that [the proposal] can be approved by all UN member states at the upcoming UN General Assembly in October, so that World Lake Day can be celebrated every year,” Tri Tharyat said.

The second is Indonesia’s proposal, namely establishing a centre of excellence for water issues and climate change, as well as resilience against the two situations.

The third is related to integrated water resources management, especially in small islands. It is in Indonesia’s interest since it has countless small islands, as well as being in the interest of small island developing states.

The last is Indonesia's efforts to leave a legacy in the form of a sizeable number of concrete projects in the water sector. “More than 100 projects have been curated by the National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas), Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment, Foreign Affairs Ministry, and Public Works and Housing Ministry. The details will be shared at the launching of the Ministerial Declaration,” Tri Tharyat said.

Previously, Public Works and Housing Minister Basuki Hadimuljono, who also serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the National Organizing Committee of the 10^th World Water Forum, stated that the Forum is very special because of the High-Level Meeting attended by heads of state.

According to Basuki, the High-Level Meeting and Ministerial Declaration are the fruits of the diplomacy carried out by the Foreign Affairs Ministry. (Natalia Santi /TR/Elvira Inda Sari//DH/Flo)

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For further information, please contact:

Director General of Public Information and Communications of the Ministry of Communications and Informatics – Usman Kansong (0816785320).

PCO of the 10th World Water Forum - Dede Ariwibowo (08111830020).

Get more information at https://infopublik.id/kategori/world-water-forum and https://s.id/worldwaterforumpedia.