The Fourth Meeting of the Global High Level Panel on Water and Peace was held in Amman, Jordan on 3-4 May 2017. It was hosted by HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, a member of the Panel, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation of the Government of Switzerland (SDC).

At the Inaugural Session, speeches were made by HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal, Chairman of the Panel Dr Danilo Turk, Vice-Chairman of the Panel Dr Alvaro Umana Quesada, Ambassador Pio Wennubst, Assistant Director General, Head of the Global Cooperation Department of SDC, Mr Francois Muenger, Director of the Geneva Water Hub and Strategic Foresight Group’s President, Dr Sundeep Waslekar. The Meeting of the Panel took place under the auspices of the Royal Scientific Society (RSS) of Jordan.

In his speech in the Inaugural Session, HRH Prince El Hassan bin Talal stressed the importance of regional cooperation and emphasizing policy over politics in the arena of water. He also stated that the consideration of human dignity is at the core of usage of water. Chairman of the Panel Dr Danilo Turk outlined the work of the Panel thus far in his speech and stated the Panel’s goals of making recommendations to the international community with a view towards using water as an instrument of peace-building.

In his speech, SFG President Dr Sundeep Waslekar noted that Amman was an apt place for the Fourth Meeting of the Global High Level Panel. He stated that the work of the Panel is important for the future as water has been and continues to be used as an instrument or tool for conflict. He pointed out that there have been 4000 years of history where water was used as a tool for conflict; however, the history of water cooperation is only 200 years old.

The sessions saw the participation and presence of several regional experts as well as leaders from Jordan and other countries. Dr Munther Haddadin, Member of Senate and former Minister of Water and Irrigation of Jordan and Eng. Mohammad Al-Najjar, Member of Senate, former Minister of Water and Irrigation of Jordan offered their insight and perspectives on regional water issues including the challenges faced by Jordan. Also present were other experts including Dr Elias Salameh, Dr. Abdelrahman Tamimi, Dr. Seyed Peyman Badiei, Dr. Shahab Araghinejad, Dr. Mohammadreza Shahbazbegian, Ms. Natasha Carmi, and Mr. Michael Talhami.

In the remaining sessions, the Panel discussed its substantive recommendations and worked towards finalising the draft report that is due to be released later this year. Apart from this, Panellists also discussed the next steps as the mandate of the Panel comes to a close.

To view photos from the Meeting, click here.