Hon. Waven William represented the National Assembly as the President of the Standing Committee on Sustainable Development of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU), at the 10th World Water Forum held in Bali, Indonesia from 18th -24th May 2024 under the theme, ‘Water for Shared Prosperity’. The Forum brought together participants from all levels including, Heads of State, politicians, multilateral institutions, academia, civil society and the private sector. Hon. William was accompanied by Mr. Nico Barito, the Honorary Consul of Seychelles in Indonesia and the Seychelles Envoy ASEAN, and Mr. Joshua Somba, the Seychelles Program Officer at the Consul.
The President of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E Mr Joko Widodo officially opened the 10th World Water Forum at the Bali International Convention Centre (BICC) on Monday, 20th May 2024, welcoming all the world leaders to Bali and further emphasized on the need to revitalize collective action to water by sharing expertise and innovation. The forum involved the Leaders Meeting, Ministerial and parliamentarians’ meetings including an Exposition and Fair. The opening day of the forum involved a series of thematic sessions and high-level panels that focused on key areas such as financing, climate resilience and renewable energy.
Hon. William formed part of 180 Parliamentarians from 49 countries who participated in the forums parliamentary meeting, organised collaboratively with the IPU and the Indonesian House of Representatives, whereby active discussions took place on water policies that promote global sustainability and prosperity; access to water and sanitation; innovative practices for equitable access; waters role in climate action; and water diplomacy for peace. The second day of the forum featured intense discussions on six-sub-themes and special sessions on Water, Energy and the Food Nexus as well as laying the ground groundwork for the 4th Water Security Seminar. The parliamentary delegates also visited a mangrove protected area boating of more than 1.5 hectares with 33 species. At the meetings, there was a call to promote the creation of a parliamentary Water Caucus in all parliaments, wherever possible to ensure that SDG 6 is achieved, global water sources be protected and well managed. Hon. William reflected that large oceanic states like Seychelles should be reviewing its policies regarding water source protection, distribution, and management.
In the cloture of the event, the Minister of Public Works and Public Housing of the Republic of Indonesia, and Vice-Chairman of the 10th World Water Forum, Mr. Basuki Hadimuljono, officially closed the forum by proclaiming that the work is not yet complete and that there are concrete steps to be followed. Minister Basuki called on each country to contribute according to their respective capabilities. "In the global water agenda, every country must be part of the solution through cooperation and complementarity, not competition.", expressed the Minister.
