The Emirates News Agency reported that President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan dispatched the written message to His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. The correspondence contained an official invitation for the Amir to participate in the 2026 United Nations Water Conference. The delivery occurred when the UAE ambassador to Qatar met with a senior official at the Qatari foreign ministry to hand over the document.
The conference is set to take place from December 8 to 10, 2026, in Abu Dhabi, according to UN-Water. It is co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal in what the organisers describe as the first such UN event led by two Global South nations. Participation is expected to include governments, UN entities, private sector representatives and civil society organisations from around the world.
A UN-Water statement outlined that the gathering aims to accelerate implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation while strengthening international water governance. The event will build upon the 2023 UN Water Conference held in New York, which a UN-Water review noted was the first dedicated water conference in nearly half a century. Themes for six interactive dialogues were adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2025.
Preparatory work included an organisational session in New York in March 2025 and a high-level meeting convened by the President of the General Assembly on July 9, 2025, UN documentation shows. These sessions helped shape the conference agenda and identify best practices for addressing water challenges. The programme will feature an Oasis zone hosted by the UAE for exhibitions and innovation discussions alongside the official UN-led Blue Zone with plenaries and side events.
The UAE and Qatar held the seventh session of their joint higher committee for cooperation in May 2026, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported. Discussions at that meeting covered multiple areas of bilateral partnership. Such contacts form part of ongoing diplomatic engagement between the two states.
Water-related issues have gained prominence on the global agenda since the 2023 conference, according to UN-Water updates. The 2026 event will seek to convert earlier commitments into measurable actions ahead of the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals. Host nation the UAE has positioned the conference as an opportunity to showcase solutions in water management, technology and cross-sector collaboration.
