The High-Level workshop on Financing Transboundary Basin Development was held back-to-back with the eighth session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Water Convention in Astana, on 9 October 2018. Organized under the leadership of Kazakhstan, the Netherlands and Switzerland and in cooperation with the Asian Development Bank, GEF IW:LEARN, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank; the high-level workshop targeted high-level officials such as Ministers, State Secretary, Permanent Secretary or Director-General. Switzerland and Kazakhstan co-chaired the meeting.
More than 100 participants took part in the high-level workshop, aiming at enhancing their capacity in financing transboundary water cooperation. More specifically, the workshop aimed to facilitate knowledge sharing and peer learning among Water Ministers and other High-Level officials on options to enhance the financial sustainability of transboundary basin development; to provide Ministers and other High-Level officials with access to state-of-the-art knowledge on how to mobilize funding for transboundary basin development including on preparation of investment plans and financing strategies and to promote exchange of experience on how to raise funds from national sources for transboundary basin development.
To facilitate discussions and exchanges between the participants, thematic ministerial roundtables took place. Case studies presentations and moderated discussions were organized for participants to better understand what are the current needs to enhance transboundary basin development and what are the sources of financing for these needs. Donors, international organizations, countries and river basin organizations exchanged on challenges and existing solutions to improve financing transboundary water cooperation.
The urgent need to create enabling conditions for investments in shared basins was the main conclusion of the discussion, namely through appropriate and strong legal and institutional arrangements for cooperation. Other recommendations and key messages form the workshop were captured in the Co-Chair summary (soon available on this page).
On the following day (10 October), the 8th session of the Meeting of the Parties also welcomed the main outcomes of the workshop and stressed the importance of financing sustainable basin development. Governments, donors and other actors were also called upon to implement the recommendations emanating from the workshop.
Moreover, one of the programme areas of the next Programme of Work of the Water Convention for 2019-2021 will focus on financing transboundary water cooperation. In this regard, the high-level workshop was a first step to engage a dialogue with countries and key stakeholders.