Kirk here reporting that quite a few heads of state participated in the Asia-Pacific Water Summit, held this weekend in Kumamoto. Prime Minister Hun Sen of Cambodia is pictured in one of the articles I’m sharing today with Prime Minister Kishida of Japan, both of whom came to Kumamoto. Another article I’m linking to shows Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh of Laos addressing participants directly. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines gave speeches virtually (among others, I’m sure; I don’t have a complete list of the speakers). And, Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote as follows:

" . . . around the world, three in ten of the world’s population still lack access to safe drinking water at home. Six in ten live without safely managed sanitation services. Millions of lives are lost each year as a result. With just eight years to go to the deadline of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we are seriously off-track to achieve the sixth Sustainable Development Goal of clean water and sanitation for all."

Water for Sustainable Development - Best Practices and the Next Generation https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2022/04/water-sustainable-development-best-practices-and-next-generation

Duterte seeks bold, urgent climate action https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/04/25/news/national/duterte-seeks-bold-urgent-climate-action/1841181

Asia-Pacific Water Summit: President speaks about his plans for next three years https://www.newswire.lk/2022/04/23/asia-pacific-water-summit-president-speaks-about-his-plans-for-next-three-years/

Laos calls for sustainable water resource management at Asia-Pacific Water Summit https://www.thestar.com.my/aseanplus/aseanplus-news/2022/04/25/laos-calls-for-sustainable-water-resource-management-at-asia-pacific-water-summit

Outcome of Cambodian PM’s participation in the 4th Asia-Pacific Water Summit in Japan https://www.khmertimeskh.com/501063083/outcome-of-cambodian-pms-participation-in-the-4th-asia-pacific-water-summit-in-japan/