Minister of Water and Environment Eng. Tawfiq Al-Sharjabi and Minister of Planning and International Cooperation and Governor of Yemen to the World Bank Group, Dr. Afrah Al-Zouba, met today in Washington, D.C., with the World Bank’s Water Global Practice team to discuss strengthening the resilience of Yemen’s water services to climate change and advancing studies for the proposed Aden Seawater Desalination Project.

The meeting, held on the sidelines of the 2026 World Bank Group and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings, focused on Yemen’s growing water challenges and opportunities for long-term investment in climate-resilient water infrastructure.

During the discussions, Minister Al-Sharjabi outlined the severity of the water crisis in Aden and emphasized the urgent need to develop desalination projects. He explained that the city relies primarily on the Tuban Delta aquifer, where groundwater levels continue to decline while seawater intrusion is increasingly affecting water quality.

Dr. Al-Zouba underscored the strategic importance of the proposed programme in addressing Yemen’s acute water crisis. She noted that the water sector is a central pillar of both the government’s forthcoming National Development Plan and the new Country Partnership Framework with the World Bank Group.

The Minister also stressed the importance of engaging the private sector, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), and international investment guarantee agencies from the earliest stages of project preparation, in line with the government’s strategy to expand public-private partnerships.

During the meeting, the World Bank team presented the proposed Multi-Phase Water Program, the first initiative of its kind in Yemen, designed as a ten-year programme consisting of three phases.

The first phase will focus on integrated water resources management and improvements to water supply and sanitation services, while piloting small-scale solar-powered desalination plants in the Aden–Tuban and Wadi Hajar basins.

The second phase will involve the construction of a large-scale seawater desalination plant for the city of Aden.

The third phase will expand the programme to additional water basins across Yemen. The World Bank also presented opportunities to mobilize additional financing from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to support future phases of the programme.

The two sides agreed to establish a joint technical committee comprising representatives from the Ministry of Water and Environment, the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation, the Local Water Corporation, and the World Bank Group to begin preparations for the large-scale desalination project.

They also agreed to continue coordinating efforts to finalize the requirements for presenting the first phase of the programme to the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors in May, while simultaneously initiating early preparations for the second phase, including feasibility studies and engagement with private sector investors and regional and international development partners.