UAE and Senegal partner to drive African water security investment

The United Arab Emirates and Senegal are collaborating to transform water security pledges in Africa into actionable, investable projects. This initiative will be a central focus of the 2026 UN Water Conference, which the two nations will co-host in Abu Dhabi. The goal is to connect African national priorities with development finance institutions, investors, and innovators to strengthen project pipelines and attract large-scale financing.

At the Africa Water and Sanitation Systems Leadership Symposium in Kigali, officials emphasized that the current challenge has shifted from setting ambitions to ensuring implementation. Addressing the global water crisis—where billions lack access to managed water and sanitation—is viewed as both a development and economic imperative that supports food security and productivity.

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) highlighted the Metolong Dam project in Lesotho as a successful model of multi-partner cooperation. ADFD contributed US$21 million toward the US$450 million program, which provides clean drinking water to over 500,000 households and supports electricity for thousands of homes and schools.