Cooperation without agreement on every issue
Balalaa's argument centers on a distinction: countries face different water challenges, but those differences can give them reasons to pool technology, expertise and investment. He says practical work on a shared problem can establish relationships among governments, researchers and businesses that outlast a project or political cycle.
Drawing on discussions over the past year with policymakers, diplomats, business leaders and civil society, he describes water as a common concern across food production, energy, climate policy, economic development and technological innovation. In his view, no country can build water resilience alone, and partnerships should make joint action more valuable than acting separately.
The UN's official conference overview puts the unmet need at an estimated 2.1 billion people without safely managed drinking water and 3.4 billion without safely managed sanitation services. It identifies population growth, greater demand, pollution, climate change and competition for water resources as pressures on communities and economies.
The 2026 UN Water Conference is scheduled for December 8-10 at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre (ADNEC), with the UAE and Senegal as co-hosts. The official host website describes it as the first UN Water Conference led by two Global South nations, only the third such conference in almost 50 years, and the first devoted to accelerating implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation.
Desalination and research link the UAE and China
Balalaa presents the UAE-China partnership as a way to combine different strengths: China's scientific, industrial and technological capabilities and the UAE's experience developing water technologies for an arid environment. Despite differences in geography, development and water systems, he says, the countries share an interest in more resilient supplies and innovation suited to their communities.
The Taweelah Independent Water Plant in Abu Dhabi is his principal infrastructure example. Described in his article as the world's largest reverse-osmosis seawater desalination plant, it produces about 900,000 cubic meters of freshwater daily and supplies millions of households across the city. Balalaa credits PowerChina with building the facility under an engineering, procurement and construction arrangement.
ACWA Power's project page gives the plant's capacity as 200 million imperial gallons, or 909,200 cubic meters, per day—44% larger than the previous largest reverse-osmosis plant. The $907 million project entered commercial operation in the first quarter of 2024 and has a 30-year water purchase agreement with the Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC).
ACWA Power owns a 40% stake, while Mubadala and TAQA are also investors. The project page identifies the engineering, procurement and construction contractors as SEPCOIII Electric Power Construction, a PowerChina subsidiary, and Abengoa Agua.
For Balalaa, desalination is essential to the UAE's water resilience, but additional production is only part of the task. He also calls for greater efficiency, lower energy use and the responsible development and integration of artificial intelligence and other technologies into water systems.
Research cooperation provides another example. In May 2025, the Mohamed bin Zayed Water Initiative signed a memorandum of understanding with China's Institute of Seawater Desalination and Multipurpose Utilization, part of China's Ministry of Natural Resources. The agreement aims to support desalination innovation through joint research and training.
The initiative was launched on February 29, 2024, under the directives of UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to address global water scarcity, according to its official news release. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan chairs it, and Balalaa is a board member.
China's role also extends to equipment exports. Reuters, citing UN Comtrade data, reported that Chinese exports of water filtering and purifying machinery exceeded $2 billion in 2025, a 25% increase from $1.6 billion in 2020. Saudi developer ACWA Power obtains about 70% of its global water equipment from Chinese suppliers.
Reuters also reported that ACWA Power has pledged investments of up to $30 billion in China by 2030. Its purchasing plans call for at least $15 billion a year in Chinese equipment over the next three years across renewable energy, green hydrogen and desalination.
From conference commitments to delivery
Balalaa argues that agreements and negotiating positions are not sufficient measures of cooperation. Partnerships should also be judged by what they enable people and institutions to accomplish, including economic opportunities and more reliable access to water and energy. Given the strategic importance of water infrastructure, technology, finance and resources, he says such partnerships need mutual respect, clear objectives and benefits understood by all sides.
He calls on governments to establish conditions for progress at the December conference, while emphasizing that implementation at scale also requires businesses, financial institutions, researchers, civil society and young people. His proposed tests of success are the decisions made, investment mobilized and solutions expanded beyond individual projects, with partnerships continuing after the Abu Dhabi gathering.
The conference program assigns a theme to each day: "Water for Shared Prosperity" on December 8, "Investments for Lives & Livelihood" on December 9 and "Resilient Future Together" on December 10. Six interactive dialogues will address Water for People, Water for Prosperity, Water for Planet, Water for Cooperation, Water in Multilateral Processes and Investments in Water.
