UN report praises Kingdom's achievements in integrated water resources management
The event was held on the sidelines of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development at the UN's headquarters, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Wednesday.
It followed UN-Water's recognition of Saudi Arabia as one of the countries showing clear and measurable progress in integrated water resources management under SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) 6.
The Kingdom's delegation, led by Abdulaziz Al-Shaibani, the deputy minister for water at the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture, presented Saudi Arabia's approach to accelerating the progress of SDG 6.
The event spotlighted successes in the sector and countries making significant strides. Saudi Arabia was highlighted in the report as a success story for its rapid progress in integrated water resources management, the SPA added.
Al-Shaibani said that the Kingdom's efforts had brought notable improvements in efficiency, coordination, and service quality between 2017 and 2023.
The Kingdom's integrated water resources management indicator rose from 57 percent to 83 percent during this period, marking one of the fastest global increases under SDG indicator 6.5.1, he said.
Al-Shaibani stressed that strong support from the Kingdom's leadership had enabled significant structural and organizational reforms to aid sustainable water management.
With substantial investments to expand and modernize water infrastructure, these efforts had raised the Kingdom's 'enabling environment' score from 42 percent in 2017 to 87 percent in 2023, he added.
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