From the ministerial meeting to the Forum, Rome tackles the issue of water security in the Euro-Mediterranean region

The dossier on water security in the Euro-Mediterranean region arrives in Rome. This follows on from two events. On 28 September, the second ministerial meeting of the Union for the Mediterranean on water will be held at the Farnesina. This will provide an opportunity to sign the new ‘Mediterranean Declaration on Water’. From 29 September to 2 October, meanwhile, over 5,000 participants and 40 international delegations will take part in the Euro-Mediterranean Water Forum, to be held at the La Nuvola conference centre.

The Ministerial Meeting and the Forum represent the two sides of a single process aimed at strengthening Mediterranean cooperation on water, in which Italia aims to act as a bridge between political dialogue, development cooperation, technical capacity, the mobilisation of investment and the involvement of non-state actors. “We want to make Rome the world capital of water,” explained Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani during the press conference to present the initiatives which took place on 18 September at the Ministry.

The ministerial meeting will be co-chaired by Jordan and the European Commission under the UfM co-presidency, with Italia as the host country, and will bring together the relevant ministers from the 43 member countries of the Union for the Mediterranean. The Rome event marks the first sectoral ministerial meeting organised by the UfM since October 2023. In this context, Italia is emerging as the first country willing to promote a resumption of dialogue at the political level, helping to revitalise regional discussions on an issue – that of water – which, not least in light of the complex dynamics in the Mediterranean, is of growing political and strategic importance.

The Ministerial Meeting will therefore be called upon to adopt the Second UfM Ministerial Declaration on Water. The text sets out a common strategy and priorities for tackling water scarcity, strengthening resilience and addressing the effects of climate change in the Mediterranean region. Alongside the adoption of the Declaration, the ‘Rome Initiative on Water’ will be launched – a UfM capacity-building initiative aimed at strengthening the capacities of the Southern Mediterranean countries and, in particular, at facilitating the preparation and financing of projects in the water sector.

The first operational pillar of the initiative will be the Italian programme “Rome Water Investment Flagship (RWIF)”, implemented by CIHEAM Bari in collaboration with the UfM through funding of €3 million from Italian Development Cooperation. The three-year initiative aims to strengthen the technical and financial capacities of Mediterranean countries in the design, preparation and financing of bankable projects relating to water security and climate resilience, helping to bridge the gap between the identification of priorities and the mobilisation of the resources needed for their implementation.