The African Union Commission (AUC) together with the African Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) on the 14th of May 2020, hosted a webinar on Transboundary Water Infrastructure development in the Programme for Infrastructure Development (PIDA) Priority Action Plan Phase 2 (PIDA PAP 2) Process.

The focus on the webinar for Transboundary Water Infrastructure development was on the following:

• Status update of partners’ support, including opportunities, challenges, and the progress on the implementation of PIDA PAP 1 water projects.
• Highlight achieved milestones and challenges facing transboundary water infrastructure projects.
• To raise awareness on the importance of Water as an interconnector for the PIDA Sectors and for regional integration in the PIDA PAP 2 process, and
• To share experiences of ongoing initiatives in the Water Sector and their relevance to the PIDA PAP 2 process.

The AUC together with AUDA-NEPAD invited key partners such as the African Development Bank (AFDB), African Ministers Council on Water (AMCOW), and Global Water Partnership (GWP) to present on topics that speak to the Transboundary Water Infrastructure focusing on the objectives above. 74 participants attended the webinar, including RECs and PIDA focal points, Centers of Excellence on Water, ANWIN, GIZ and other Water Sector Partners.

The PIDA sub-sector on Transboundary water infrastructure is one that demands attention, due to the lack of and or limited water projects submissions in PIDA-PAP-1. Therefore, an urgent need to intensify efforts on the development of Transboundary water infrastructure is paramount, as well as addressing the adverse impacts of climate change for the transformation and socio-economic development to achieve regional integration in Africa.

What was anticipated as key outcomes from the webinar was clarity on how the water sector partners have engaged to advance the PIDA PAP 1 projects. And the opportunities for supporting the objectives of the transboundary water sub-sector in the PIDA PAP 2 process. Furthermore, to raise awareness of the contribution of water in Africa’s development and the objectives of the PIDA Programme.

From this initial webinar, based on the discussions that took place and the level of interest from the 74 participants who joined the webinar. It is safe to assume that Transboundary water infrastructure is well off its way to a progressive step to encouraging RECs and PIDA focal points to prioritize the submission of water projects for PIDA PAP 2.

A follow up to the Transboundary Water Infrastructure webinar will be communicated by AUC to draw up conclusions from the discussion that took place on the first and second webinars. And to assess whether the objectives and expectations of these discussion were achieved.