UAE seeks partnership with Korea for water security before UN summit
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is actively seeking to enhance collaboration with South Korea in the fields of desalination, artificial intelligence, and clean energy as it readies itself to host the 2026 UN Water Conference. By positioning Seoul as a critical partner in combatting the escalating global water crisis, the UAE is looking to forge strong partnerships with South Korea, leveraging its advanced technological capabilities to address pressing water security challenges.
In a recent written correspondence with The Korea Herald, UAE Ambassador to Korea Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi emphasized the significance of South Korea’s technological expertise, underscoring its role as a natural ally for the upcoming UN Water Conference set to take place in Abu Dhabi from December 8 to 10. Al Nuaimi stressed that South Korea’s active involvement in the conference is essential for its success, highlighting the nation’s robust strengths in engineering, advanced water treatment, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence, and clean technologies.
As water security emerges as a prominent geopolitical concern alongside energy and food security, the implications of climate change, population growth, and prolonged drought continue to exert immense pressure on global freshwater resources. Despite substantial investments in desalination, Gulf nations remain amongst the most water-stressed regions globally. Against this backdrop, the UAE aims to steer the conference towards being solution-oriented, inclusive, and action-driven, thereby propelling progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goal 6 focusing on clean water and sanitation.
Al Nuaimi reiterated that South Korea’s prowess in engineering, digital infrastructure, and advanced water treatment positions it as an ideal partner for bilateral collaboration in realms such as smart water management, wastewater reuse, advanced desalination, and climate-resilient infrastructure. Referring to water scarcity as a defining challenge of this era, the UAE’s experience as an arid nation combined with Korea’s technological acumen sets a solid foundation for expanded cooperation, particularly in areas like desalination, smart water networks, climate-resilient infrastructure, and water-efficient agriculture.
Water resilience and energy security are intertwined, as underscored by Al Nuaimi, with sustainable desalination hinging on dependable low-carbon electricity sources. He pointed to the successful collaboration between the UAE and Korea in delivering strategic projects like the Barakah nuclear power plant, showcasing what can be achieved with a blend of long-term vision and technological excellence. Moreover, the adoption of artificial intelligence in forecasting water demand, leak detection, optimizing desalination systems, and enhancing emergency preparedness can bolster water resilience significantly, offering the opportunity to establish a scalable water-energy-technology partnership.
The UAE has placed water resilience at the core of its climate strategy through the UAE Water Security Strategy 2036, with a keen focus on enhancing water efficiency, reuse, storage, and long-term resilience. This strategic emphasis on water security was further underscored on the global stage during COP28, with initiatives like the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative and the Abu Dhabi Global Water Platform aimed at fortifying global water security. Looking ahead, Al Nuaimi emphasized the imperative of translating shared commitments into tangible projects, with a specific emphasis on AI-fueled water management, smart desalination, water reuse, climate-resilient infrastructure, and intelligent agriculture as promising avenues for UAE-Korea collaboration during the conference. The transition from dialogue to action, from ideas to implementation, and from pilots to scalable solutions should be the cornerstone of a new era of UAE-Korea cooperation in advancing water resilience and climate solutions. Notably, Al Nuaimi extended an invitation to Korean innovators to explore and engage with the UAE’s burgeoning water innovation ecosystem, underscoring the value of practical partnerships in advancing water resilience and climate-centric solutions.