St. Kitts and Nevis is well represented at the Opening Ceremony of the highly-anticipated United Nations Water Conference. This is the first of its kind to be convened at the UN since 1977. The Conference, which convened under the theme ” Our watershed moment: Uniting the world for water” brings together world leaders, diplomats, civil society organizations, and thought leaders on the critical matter of Water as a common denominator in the successful implementation of the SDGs, especially Goal 6 – Clean Water and Sanitation. Today’s opening also coincides with World Water Day, which acknowledges that water is the essence of life and all efforts must be made to ensure its sustainable use.
The Conference is attended by Hon. Konris Maynard, Minister of Public Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities et al; Hon. Dr. Joyelle Clarke, Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment et al; H.E. Nerys Dockery, Permanent Representative of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations; Ms. Ghislaine Williams, Minister-Counsellor in the Permanent Mission of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations; Mr. Auren Manners, Director of Public Sector Investment Planning; Mr. Ryan Phillip, Assistant Water Engineer in the Water Department; Ms. Denaula Laplace, Third Secretary and Lead Expert on Second Committee, Permanent Mission of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations.
The delegation will participate in a packed schedule of interactive dialogues and side events around the themes, Water for Health; Water for Sustainable Development; Water for Climate, Resilience and Environment; Water for Cooperation and Water Action Decade.
Already, the Ministers have attended the high-level reception hosted by Tajikistan and the Netherlands; attended the High-level Breakfast Meeting for Small Island Developing States hosted by His Majesty, King Willem-Alexander of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and attended the Conference on ” Water as a Bridge to Innovation” hosted by the Economic Mission of Israel to the United States and Mekorot, Israel’s largest utility company.
“Addressing Water insecurity, scarcity, management and distribution is the vital imperative of our times. It is my hope that this Conference will allow us to share best practices to learn from each other as well as build networks for cooperation, partnership and concrete action on water,” said the Hon. Konris Maynard, who heads the delegation.
The Hon. Konris Maynard is a panelist at the Side Event organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on the theme “Global Water Analysis Laboratory Network”. The Honourable Minister will deliver the national statement during the Water Conference plenary later today.