In February 2022, the organiser of XVIII World Water Congress (hereinafter referred to as the“Congress”) - General Institute of Water Resources Planning and Design (GIWP) - held a preliminary strategic meeting with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to discuss and negotiate several issues on the preparation of the XVIII World Water Congress. The two bodies firstly exchanged ideas and thoughts on how to better engage and support the Congress. Representatives of the Congress Secretariat,  Congress International Scientific Committee, and UNDP, together with leaders from IWRA, GIWP, South-South Cooperation Fund Program Division of China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchanges under the Ministry of Commerce of China jointly attended the meeting. 

The meeting reviewed the cooperation history of GIWP with the Ministry of Commerce, UNDP, and other relevant international organisations. Mr. Yuanyuan Li (Vice President of GIWP) emphasised that in recent years, GIWP has been actively participating in international water-related conferences and carrying out many cooperation projects in water resources and related fields such as climate change, improving water-related disaster prevention capabilities, optimising spatial allocation of water resources, strengthening river and lake management etc. Thus, the upcoming XVIII World Water Congress will be a good opportunity for exchanging and sharing new knowledge and conducts towards that. 

With UNDP's international influence in the water resources field, more institutions and organisations will be able to come to the Congress to share experience and practical technology in water management and innovation under the aims of the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. 

Having been invited to the Party, the Ministry of Commerce and UNDP both shared their experiences working together to carry out specific projects and maintain cooperation for 15 years, and constantly gained support from the Ministry of Water Resources and relevant bodies. They also stressed that the Ministry of Commerce and UNDP are willing to share more cooperation experiences through the platform of the XVIII World Water Congress and look forward to creating more opportunities with joint efforts. 

After the meeting, UNDP, Ministry of Commerce, and GIWP agreed to continue consultations to further discuss specific cooperation matters.