Panel urges governments to become 'private-sector ready' before 2026 U.N. Water Conference

Retno Marsudi, the U.N. secretary-general’s special envoy on water, Abdallah Dardari, U.N. assistant secretary-general and director of UNDP’s Regional Bureau for Arab States, and Dolly Mirshadani, co-head of the global infrastructure industry group at White & Case LLP, told an SDG Media Zone panel that governments must get projects “finance-ready” ahead of the U.N. Water Conference in 2026.

Retno Marsudi said progress on Sustainable Development Goal 6 (water and sanitation) since 2015 has been insufficient and that the 2026 conference should prioritize implementation. “We need to accelerate implementation,” she said, adding that the U.N. can help by convening stakeholders, setting clear principles, supplying trusted data and ensuring inclusive, accountable partnerships.

The nut graph — why this matters: water financing is currently dominated by public sources, Marsudi said, leaving a gap that private capital could help fill if governments prepare bankable projects and clarify rules of engagement. Without better-prepared projects and clearer legal and regulatory frameworks, private investors will struggle to commit capital at scale.

Abdallah Dardari described the Arab region as “water-poor” and crisis-prone and said recent conflicts have set back human development index progress by roughly one to two years. He offered two partnership examples he said have worked: a solar-powered groundwater and pumping initiative in Somalia supported by the Saudi Fund for Development and UNDP that he said will benefit about 3,000,000 people, and Jordan’s Aqaba–Amman project, where he said $600,000,000 of green climate finance has helped attract around $6,000,000,000 in private investment and is expected to provide clean drinking water to about 40% of Jordanians. Dardari described UNDP’s role as blending finance, derisking projects, and building institutional capacity to attract private capital.

From the private sector perspective, Dolly Mirshadani said three core barriers keep prioritized water projects from becoming finance-ready: (1) the difference between funding and financing — “how will it be paid for” — and the need for clear cost-recovery mechanisms or credible public credit support; (2) unclear legal and regulatory frameworks and weak contract enforcement that raise political and legal risk; and (3) inadequate technical preparedness, such as identified sites, environmental contamination assessments and geotechnical studies. “Preparedness will lead to a much more cost-effective deployment of private sector innovation,” she said.

Mirshadani urged governments to use competitive, well-structured procurement processes and to set clear, stable terms so private bidders can price risk accurately. She said competitive procurement and stakeholder engagement can drive down costs and produce better technical solutions. As a practical step, she proposed that governments consider asking private partners to help fund the preparatory work — legal, financial and technical studies — that make projects investable.

Panelists agreed on two recurring themes: water is inherently interdisciplinary (linking energy and food systems), and public finance alone cannot meet the investment needs. Retno cited a rough financing mix: about 86% public funding for water and just 2% private participation, prompting a call to innovate funding approaches and widen inclusive engagement ahead of the 2026 conference.

The session closed with a final appeal for action-oriented commitments in 2026, including clearer procurement rules, strengthened legal frameworks and investments in project readiness so that private capital can be mobilized without undermining affordability or accountability. The moderator closed the event after thanking panelists and attendees.