The 11th World Water Forum Kick-off Meeting and 89th Board of Governors Meeting of the World Water Council were held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 13-15 April 2025 with the participation of SUEN President Prof. Dr. Lütfi Akca and SUEN Project Advisor Prof. Dr. Bilge Kocamemi.
Preparations for the 11th World Water Forum (WWF) to be hosted by Saudi Arabia in 2027 started with the official kick-off meeting held in Riyadh. Prior to this important event, the 89th Board of Governors Meeting of the World Water Council (WWC) was also held in Riyadh on April 13. Prof. Dr. Akca attended the meeting as the WWC Governor representing Türkiye. Both meetings are important for shaping the global water agenda and strengthening multi-stakeholder collaborations.
The kick-off meeting of the 11th WWF, hosted by the Government of Saudi Arabia and the World Water Council, was attended by government representatives from various countries, international organizations, water experts, academics and representatives of civil society organizations.
During the meeting, initial discussions were held on the main themes, structure and roadmap of the 11th WWF. Climate change, water security, innovative water management approaches, financing mechanisms and regional cooperation were among the prominent topics.
The opening speeches emphasized the growing strategic importance of water at the global level and stated that the 11th WWF will be an important platform to develop common solutions and create tangible impacts. Participants agreed that the forum should focus on inclusive, science-based and actionable outcomes. The 11th WWF opening meeting is important as the first step of the preparation process, which is planned to be open to the contributions of the all stakeholders, and it is expected that various consultation meetings, regional forums and stakeholder platforms will be organized in the coming period within the framework of preparations for the thematic, political, regional processes.
As part of the meetings, contributions were made to the shaping of the sub-themes to be included in the 11th World Water Forum in the light of Türkiye’s experiences, particularly under the themes of Water Security, Water Diplomacy and Water for Humans and Nature.