Accra, Jan. 24, GNA- The regional branch of the Global Water Partnership (GWP) in West Africa is organizing its 3rd General Assembly from 27 to 28 January in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.

A statement issued in Accra on Saturday said the meeting will a have a high level panel to discuss the session on strategies of adaptation to climate change through Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). Under the theme: "IWRM in West Africa, strategies of adaptation in a context of proven climate change", the event would also mark the ten years anniversary of GWP action in West Africa.

The statement said the Chair and the five deputy-chairs of the African Ministerial Council on Water (AMCOW), the Chair of GWP, Chairs of the five GWP regions in Africa and the Mediterranean in addition to the traditional regional partners would attend the meeting. The meeting would encourage close collaboration and cooperation between GWP and AMCOW, as well as their regional representations in Africa, in order to improve the concretization of the political will around water and climate change issues in and around the continent. "The Abidjan meeting will be an opportunity to bring to an operational level the GWP/AMCOW MOU for its effective implementation in 2009 and generalize the cooperation between their regional representations to the five regions of the African continent", the statement said.

The statement also said the GWP West Africa would also, prior to the meeting hold a workshop on fundraising for Country Water Partnerships (CWP) with the financial support of ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States)

IGWP/WA has since October 2007, started implementing the Programme for the Improvement of Water Governance in West Africa (PIWAG). This programme three-year programme is financially supported by the European Union and GWPO.