The participation of the NBA Executive Secretariat’s Delegation at World Water Week 2026 was also marked by significant strategic networking and partnership diplomacy activities.

On the sidelines of the official Sessions, the NBA Executive Secretary, H.E. Kocou Armand HOUANYE, and the members of his Delegation held discussions with representatives of specialised institutions, development partners and sister Transboundary Basin Organisations (TBOs).

Those discussions focused on the development of technical and scientific partnerships for modernising the NBA’s decision-support tools, mobilising climate finance, resilience building, regional cooperation and hydrodiplomacy in the Niger Basin.

Discussions were held with the DHI partners on the modernisation of decision-support tools and the mobilisation of resources from potential funding sources for the NBA’s initiatives. The NBA intends to, among other things, implement more integrated and interoperable solutions which better cover the implications of climate change, urbanisation and socio-economic development, with a view to strengthening monitoring, forecasting and decision-making support basin wide.

Discussions with the President of the Adaptation Fund and other partners provided an opportunity to explore ways for supporting the NBA’s initiatives on climate change adaptation and resilience for communities and ecosystems. The need to better align the Niger Basin’s national and regional priorities with international climate finance mechanisms was stressed.

Discussions with the Dutch Cooperation, IHE-Delft, the Japan Development Cooperation (JICA) and the Global Water Partnership (GWP) have opened up opportunities for collaboration in the areas of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) and climate resilience, innovation, hydrodiplomacy, as well as institutional strengthening and transboundary cooperation.

The Executive Secretariat’s Delegation also had the opportunity to strengthen the NBA’s relations with sister Transboundary Basin Organisations (TBOs) like the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC), the Mekong River Commission (MRC), the Okavango River Basin Permanent Water Commission (OKACOM) and the Nile Basin Initiative (NBI). These exchanges facilitated experience sharing around common challenges: institutional resilience, funding mobilisation, data sharing, hydro-climate risk management, hydrodiplomacy and promoting transboundary cooperation benefits.

Beyond the contacts established, this momentum reflects a strong strategic focus on the part of the NBA: to move from an approach based on institutional cooperation to a genuine partnership-based diplomacy geared towards the mobilisation of resources, the implementation of structuring investments and the delivery of tangible results driving progress for the well-being of people in the Niger Basin.