The 2025 Regional Water Week was inaugurated on Monday, October 6, in the Raúl Prebisch Room at ECLAC (Santiago, Chile). The ceremony was moderated by Ms. Silvia Saravia Matus, Economic Affairs Officer in charge of Water Resources at ECLAC’s Natural Resources Division, and included remarks by Mr. Rodrigo Sanhueza Bravo, Director General of Water Resources at the Ministry of Public Works of Chile, and Mr. Martín Abeles, Director of ECLAC’s Natural Resources Division. A special video message from Ms. Meike van Ginneken, Water Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, was also shown.

The Latin America and Caribbean Regional Water Week was a five-day event that brought together  25 working sessions  to advance proposed solutions to the various challenges facing water resources in today's complex world. Among the week's activities were:  the 26th meeting of CODIA (the Latin American Commission for the Development of Indigenous Peoples), the meeting of the Latin American Water Council, the DIFROL and UNECE/CEPE Transboundary Waters Seminar, the commemoration of Inter-American Water Day, the  5th ECLAC Regional Water Dialogues , and numerous technical sessions on  the circular economy, investment promotion,  pricing,  governance,  human rights,  gender, and  nature-based solutions. A complete summary of the week and additional resources can be found here. 

In his welcoming address at the opening of Regional Water Week 2025, Mr.  Martín Abeles extended a  warm welcome to delegations from governments, international organizations, civil society, the private sector, and academia. He emphasized that the Week  addresses a specific need :  to increase synergies and collaboration, to act  efficiently , and to advance with  austerity in regional water coordination.

• He called for action under the motto  "One region, one voice" in the face of the upcoming global milestones,  COP30 (Brazil, 2025) and the  United Nations Water Conference (2026).
   
• He stressed that the focus is not only  on analysis, but also  on promoting concrete actions and voluntary commitments , inviting each institution and participant to add their voice, experience and  commitment .
   
• He highlighted  the region's solutions : tariff reforms with  social inclusion ,  scaling up circular economy pilot projects  in sanitation ,  climate finance for water and agriculture, and  cross-border cooperation that promotes peace and sustainability.
   
• He acknowledged the role of the Regional Group of Experts on Water Resources, consolidated as a  key network for technical-political cooperation .
   
• Finally, he stated that the Week is a  launching platform for:  updating the Regional Action Agenda for Water,  the UN's interagency work for SDG 6, and the  joint positioning of Latin America and the Caribbean on the global stage.
   

The opening of the 2025 Regional Water Week also featured the distinguished presence of  Mr. Rodrigo Sanhueza Bravo , Director General of Aguas de Chile, and  Ms. Meike van Ginneken, Water Envoy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, with a video that can be viewed  here, underscoring the commitment of the international community to regional water sustainability.