NEW YORK: (Bernama-Xinhua/Antara) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appointed Retno L.P. Marsudi (pic) of Indonesia as his special envoy on water.
This role is intended to strengthen partnerships and drive efforts to advance the water agenda, including follow-up actions from the UN 2023 Water Conference, reported Xinhua.
"The special envoy will draw on these outcomes in the lead-up to various global water processes, particularly the UN 2026 Water Conference," said a press release issued by the world body.
Marsudi will support efforts to ensure a water-secure future for all by advocating for stronger political, economic and sociocultural cooperation at all levels.
Efforts are aimed to enhance international cooperation and synergies among various international water processes in support of the achievement of all water-related goals and targets, such as Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the press release said.
Representing the UN chief in global water processes, Marsudi will also work with UN-Water and its members in support of the implementation of the UN System-wide Strategy on Water and Sanitation at all levels, in line with the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework.
Marsudi, who will take up the role of special envoy on water on Nov. 1, has been serving as the minister for foreign affairs of Indonesia from 2014 to October 2024.
Meanwhile, Antara reported that Marsudi was ready to spotlight water issues at the global level.
"Some of the mandates given to me include strengthening partnerships and joint efforts to advance the water agenda, including following up on the outcomes of the 2023 UN Water Conference," she said in a statement issued on Friday (Sept 13), following an announcement from the UN Secretary-General regarding her appointment as special envoy.
Marsudi highlighted that her upcoming role is very important because currently, 2.1 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water services and 4.5 billion people do not have access to safe sanitation services.
Moreover, failure to address water and sanitation issues would not only weaken aspects of sustainable development, including society, economy, and environment, but also have an impact on the sustainability of peace, development, and human rights.
She further said that she is the first Indonesian to be appointed to the post as well as the first person to serve as a special envoy for water issues.
According to Marsudi, her appointment was made via consultation with President Widodo, who gave her his blessings to carry out her new duties.
"President-elect Prabowo Subianto also gave his full support for this appointment," she added.
She further said that she will use her experience of almost 40 years as a diplomat and 10 years as a foreign minister to the maximum to discharge her duties at the UN level. - Bernama-Xinhua/Antara
