Handing over of the Outcome package of the High-Level Panel on Water to the UN Secretary General

UsaNewsOnline.com, New York, 14 March : Today the representatives of the members of the High-Level Panel on Water (HLPW) handed over the HLPW outcome to the UN Secretary General (SG) António Guterres and Senior Representative of the World Bank President at SG’s Office in UN Headquarters. Permanent Representative (PR) of Bangladesh to the United Nations, Ambassador Masud Bin Momen joined the event on behalf of the Hon’ble Prime Minister and Panel member Sheikh Hasina.

After handing over the outcome documents, Ambassador Masud Said, “The outcome package that we have handed over today on behalf of our leaders will provide the governments and all stakeholders guidance to carry out meaningful water actions to implement the SDGs and to create a water-secure world for all”.
Mentioning that water and environment remains at the center of the development priorities of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the PR said, “Under Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s visionary leadership, Bangladesh has earned global recognition as a champion for ensuring safe drinking water and sanitation for all. In a country of more than 160 million people, nearly everyone can access safe drinking water. Now, our target is to ensure direct access to safe drinking water for all by 2020”.

Ambassador Masud also mentioned that Bangladesh values water as a right, and as a tool to ensure human dignity. He expressed his sincere appreciation to the High Level Panel on Water leaders for their commitment, guidance, and hard work.
Mentioning that climate change and frequent disasters have exacerbated the crisis of safe water across the world, the Secretary General assured that the proposals for accelerated water actions of HLPW leaders would be taken very seriously by the UN system. SG also hoped that the governments of member states would also take guidance from these recommendations while implementing water actions at the national level.