International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa and Global Cooperation Leaders Event
81st United Nations General Assembly Side Event
New York
13:00 – 14:30 EDT
21 September 2026
As Co-Chairs of the AU-AIP International High-Level Panel on Water investments for Africa, the Republic of Namibia and Senegal will lead a High-Level Leaders Event alongside the Alternate Co-Chair and other invited global leaders, on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly.
Convened by the African Union Commission in collaboration with the AU-AIP High-Level Panel, and hosted by the African Union Permanent Mission to the United Nations, the event will take place on 21 September 2026, from 13:00 to 14:30 New York time.
The High-Level Leaders Event will set out a vision for accelerating the outcomes of the AU-AIP Water Investment Summit 2025, advance the water-related determinations of the G20 Leaders’ Declaration, scaling AIP globally in collaboration with the United Nations and G20 processes, and prepare for concrete outcomes at the 2026 UN Water Conference.
As Panel Co-Chair, the Republic of Namibia will set out its intent to champion water investment and its vision of positioning Windhoek as a global political, diplomatic and investment hub for water, to build on the gains made at the Summit, the AIP, and towards the 2026 UN Water Conference. In this context, Namibia will set its intent to become a platform for international dialogue, consultation, investment mobilisation, and cooperation on water security, climate resilience, transboundary waters, and peace.
The High-Level Leaders Event will also advance the call, made in the Pact for the Future, whose intergovernmental negotiations were co-facilitated by Namibia and Germany, for stronger multilateral cooperation, accelerated SDG implementation, and reform of the international financial architecture, translating these commitments into action on water through greater mobilisation of public, private, and climate finance.
As co-convenor of the AU-AIP International High-Level Panel on Water Investments for Africa, the Global Water Partnership Organisation will support the African Union Commission and the Republics of Namibia, Senegal, and South Africa in the event.
H.E Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah
Co-Chair
President of the Republic of Namibia
H.E. Bassirou Diomaye Faye
Co-Chair
President of the Republic of Senegal
H.E. Jakaya Kikwete
Alternate Co-Chair
Former President of the United Republic of Tanzania
H.E. Cyril Ramaphosa
President of the Republic of South Africa
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