11th SADC Multi-Stakeholder Water Dialogue Begins in Maseru

The 11th SADC Multi-Stakeholder Water Dialogue officially commenced on 29 September 2025 at Avani Maseru, Lesotho, and will run until 30 September 2025. The event brings together experts, practitioners, and decision-makers from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region to examine the strategic role of water in enabling smart, integrated, and climate-resilient regional economic development corridors.

A key objective of the Dialogue is to reinforce water security as a driver of economic growth, industrialisation, regional integration, inclusive development, and shared prosperity.

In his keynote address, the Honourable Mohlomi Moleko, Minister of Natural Resources of the Kingdom of Lesotho, stressed that water is essential for agriculture, energy, trade, and industry. He highlighted its critical role in ensuring food and energy security and supporting industrial progress. Minister Moleko emphasised that water must be central to planning and investment, particularly within trade corridors, to serve as a strategic enabler of commerce, resilience, fair access to resources, climate-smart solutions, and inclusive partnerships.

This year’s Dialogue is held under the theme, “Water Security, Innovation, and Nexus Action: Watering and Enabling Regional Economic Development Corridors for Transformation in SADC.”

Over the two-day event, participants will:

• Reflect on aligning institutions, policies, and strategies to ensure the water sector contributes effectively to corridor development.
• Explore innovative and climate-resilient infrastructure solutions to unlock trade and value chain opportunities.
• Strengthen cross-sectoral partnerships across water, energy, agriculture, transport, ICT, and conservation to drive inclusive transformation.
• Advance actionable recommendations for policy and practice in the region.

The Dialogue underscores SADC’s commitment to leveraging water as a strategic resource for regional transformation. It highlights the importance of innovation, collaboration, and climate-smart planning in building resilient economic corridors.