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Upon arrival, His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed distinguished guests, including heads of state, senior government officials, and dignitaries. His Highness expressed appreciation for their participation and emphasised the importance of the discussions, sessions and accompanying events in fostering innovative ideas and solutions to advance global sustainability and climate action goals.
His Highness reaffirmed the UAE’s commitment to accelerating the global transition to clean energy through innovative strategies and ambitious plans focused on empowering youth, integrating smart solutions and leveraging advanced technologies to promote sustainability and achieve climate action goals locally, regionally and internationally.
His Highness also underscored the importance of strengthening coordination among diverse stakeholders in climate action to address global challenges effectively. His Highness highlighted the vital role of collaboration between governments, environmental organisations, private sector leaders and other key institutions in achieving shared climate goals, including reducing carbon emissions, accelerating the clean energy transition, and advancing the circular economy.
The session began with an opening address by Dr Abdulla Humaid Al Jarwan, Member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Energy, titled Shaping Water's Future: Abu Dhabi's Progressive Actions for a Sustainable Nexus. In his remarks, He highlighted global agricultural water consumption, which accounts for nearly 70 per cent of freshwater use, and outlined the UAE’s innovative freshwater management techniques aimed at enhancing resilience and operational efficiency in this critical sector.
The session continued with keynote addresses by William Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya, titled Building Africa's Green Future: Kenya's Journey to Net Zero, and Bola Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who spoke on From Climate Imperatives to Economic Prosperity: Bringing Africa Into the Future of Global Energy. This was followed by an address by Yoweri Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda, titled Uganda's Green Transformation: Leading Uganda's Journey.
Additional addresses featured Wavel Ramkalawan, President of Seychelles, who spoke on Harnessing Blue Economy & Marine Conservation for Sustainable Energy Transition, Giorgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy, titled Reimagining Energy Security Through Cross-Continental Connections, and Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania, who shared insights on Albania's Green Energy Revolution: A Vision of Regional Leadership in Renewable Energy.
Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2025 is held under the theme 'The Nexus of Next. Supercharging Sustainable Progress at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi until 18th January. It features a range of events, dialogue sessions and keynote addresses. It brings together heads of state, decision-makers, entrepreneurs and civil society representatives to exchange ideas and explore ways to accelerate the transition to a sustainable and prosperous global economy.
The event underscores the importance of strengthening cross-sector cooperation and coordination to ensure a sustainable future that meets the aspirations of the present and future generations.