First Annual Conference on Water Investment and Financing

Rome, 5 December 2019. The Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI) would like to invite you to attend the first UfM Annual Conference on Water Investment and Financing, organised in the framework of the Mediterranean Dialogues (MED), on 5 December 2019 in Rome. The Conference is technically assisted by the Global Water Partnership-Mediterranean (GWP-Med) and financially supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The UfM Annual Conference on Water Investment and Financing is a key component of the implementation plan for achieving the objectives of the UfM Financial Strategy for Water, as endorsed by the UfM Senior Officials’ Meeting in December 2018.

The special topic of the first Annual Conference on Water Investment and Financing is “Public-Private Partnerships and Financial Sustainability of the Water Sector”.

The first Annual Conference on Water, Investment and Financing will include a Technical Segment (morning) and a High-Level Segment (afternoon). The High-Level Segment will be co-chaired by the UfM Secretary General Nasser Kamel and will include a Ministerial Panel.

Concept note and agenda

Register here

9:00-9:30 Registration of participants

9:30-9:45 Session 1. Opening of the Annual Conference

• Almotaz Abadi, Managing Director for Water, UfM
• Ali Subah, Secretary General, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan
• Niklas Wiberg, Minister Counsellor, Embassy of Sweden
• Michael Scullos, Chairman, GWP-Med
• Isidro Gonzalez Afonso, Deputy Secretary General for Water, Environment and Blue Economy, UfM

9:45-11:15 Session 2. Implementation of the UfM Financial Strategy for Water

• Ali Subah, Secretary General, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan Setting the stage presentation
• Activities supported by the UfM Secretariat in 2019, Almotaz Abadi, Managing Director for Water, UfM

11:45-13:00 Session 3. Why and how to engage private financiers in financing water investments

• Ali Subah, Secretary General, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan
• Findings from the OECD Roundtable on Financing Water, Xavier Leflaive, Team Leader for Resilience-Adaptation to Climate ChangeWater, OECD Environment Directorate.
• Adli Kandah, General Director, Association of Banks in Jordan
• Ger Bergkamp, Manager Business Development, Climate Investor 2, Climate Fund Managers
• Thomas Van Gilst, Head of Water Management Division, Projects Directorate, EIB
• Oliver Loebel, Secretary General, EurEau

14:15-15:15 Session 4. High-Level Session “Regional dimensions of water investment and financing”

• Enrico Granara, Coordinator of Euro-Mediterranean Multilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy
• Emanuela del Re, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy
• Nasser Kamel, UfM Secretary-General
• E. Joe Mizzi, Minister for Energy and Water Management, Malta
• Ali Subah, Secretary General, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan
• Samir Taeib, Minister for Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Tunisia

15:15-16:30 Session 5. Public Private Partnerships in the Mediterranean Water Sector

• Manuel Sapiano, CEO, The Energy and Water Agency, Ministry of Energy and Water Management, Malta Anthi Brouma, Deputy Regional Coordinator, GWP-Med
• PPPs in Drinking Water Supply, Fadila Hamdoui, Director of Planning and Economic Affairs, Ministry of Water Resources, Algeria
• PPPs in Desalination, Olga Slepner, Advisor to the Director General and head of the International Relations Unit, Governmental Authority for Water and Sewage, Israel
• PPPs in Wastewater treatment, Ali Subah, Secretary General, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan
• PPPs in Water Re-use and other Non-Conventional Water, Sadi Ali, General Director of Projects Management Unit, Palestinian Water Authority, Palestine

17:00-18:15 Session 6. Why and how to engage private operators in enhancing the financial sustainability of the water sector

• Chair: Manuel Sapiano, CEO, The Energy and Water Agency, Ministry of Energy and Water Management, Malta
• Conclusions of the EU-UfM Water Governance and Business Forum, Roberto Martín Hurtado, Senior Advisor on Water Economics, UfM Secretariat
• Alain Meyssonnier, Secretary, The International Federation of Private Water Operators (Aquafed)
• Andrea Guerrini, President, European Water Regulators (WAREG)
• Nadia Rhatoussi, Head of Division for PPPs, Ministry of Finance, Morocco
• Fadi Comair, Director General of Hydraulic and Electrical Resources, Ministry of Energy and Water, Lebanon

18:15-18:30 Session 7. Conclusions and Closing of the Annual Conference

• Nasser Kamel, Secretary General, UfM
• Blanca Moreno-Dodson, Manager of the Centre for Mediterranean Integration, World Bank
• Manuel Sapiano, CEO, The Energy and Water Agency, Ministry of Energy and Water Management, Malta
• Ali Subah, Secretary General, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan
• Enrico Granara, Coordinator of Euro-Mediterranean Multilateral Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy

Other documents:

UfM Financial Strategy for Water

With financial support from