Asia Water Council, which was established under the leadership of K-water and the Korean government, currently has the membership of 151 organizations from 24 different nations to promote water-related issues in Asia to the global community, provide practical solutions to water issues, and improve water welfare in the region, establishing itself as a representative water-related consultative body in Asia.
As the host of the Asia International Water Week, Asia’s largest water-related event, we have contributed to the dissemination of Asia water issues and the achievements of SDGs by participating in various water-themed international events, such as the UN-Water Conference and the World Water Forum.
Starting from COP26, held in 2021, K-water has participated in events as a representative of Korea for three consecutive years, promoting the importance of water in responding to the climate crisis and expanding its scope of cooperation. K-water was selected as the operator of the session ‘Water Pavilion’ at COP28 and as the co-operator for the ‘Water for Net-Zero’ with Danish and American water companies.
K-water shared its AWC activities, confirmed its future visions, discussed water project achievements and cooperation projects being implemented with the OECD, UNDP, etc., and future strategic directions during the 4th General Assembly meeting. We also held the ‘Global Water Innovation Awards’ as part of cooperative efforts with global water partnerships, corporate exhibitions, and business consultations to build a network among promising companies in the water sector worldwide and to exchange related technologies.
K-water was approved as a special certification body as its achievements in raising the awareness of water issues in Asia has been recognized through the submission to the UN of the records of water-related international conferences and various cooperative activities AWC has been implementing. As Korea’s only water-related certification body, we participated in conferences and held official sideline events at the UN headquarters. While not only participating in official programs of the General Assembly, but also by hosting inter-governmental seminars for ministerial-level officials and signing a working agreement with the Ministry of Environment and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, we have fully fulfilled our part as Korea’s leading water management company and an active supporter of national policy, such as export expansion of the government-led water industry.
AWC participated in the 9th World Water Forum and introduced water projects and global water welfare index research at the keystone roundtable attended by ministers of four countries, including Senegal and France, water-related companies, and experts. Moreover, we also held bilateral and multilateral talks with major organizations, such as UNESCO and the World Bank, and joint sessions with member organizations at the AWC Promotion Hall, which was linked with the promotion of achievements that were made during the 2nd Asia International Water Week.
At the 2nd Asia International Water Week held in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia, under the theme of “Clean and Sustainable Water for All” in 2022, following the 1st AIWW held in Korea in 2017, Asia water issue sessions (6 agendas, 24 sessions), AWC water project achievement sharing, the introduction of best commercialization practices were presented and the ‘Asia to World Statement’ was adopted.
The Korea-Mekong Water Management Center is the only platform organization in Korea for research cooperation specialized in the water sector of the Mekong Region, which was established based on the Mekong River Declaration among the leaders of six nations, including Korea, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam at the 1st Korea-Mekong Summit in 2019. We hosted the Mekong-Korea Water Forum, a development platform for governments in the Mekong Region and development partners, contributing to the dissemination of watershed issues in the Mekong Region and achievements of SDGs while participating in international events in the water sector, such as the World Water Forum, AIWW, and the MRC International Conference.
At the 2nd Korea-Mekong International Water Forum, held in 2023 under the theme of “Enhancing Climate Change Resilience in the Mekong Region through Digital Water Management”, following the 1st forum held in Seoul in 2022, substantial opinions and expert knowledge and experiences were shared to address water issues of the Mekong Region through water project and round table sessions for developing cooperation partnerships in the Mekong Region.