The 6th India-Australia Joint Working Group Meeting on Water Cooperation between Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India and Department of Climate Change, Energy and Water, Government of Australia was held on 8^th November, 2023. The event brought together representatives from both Indian and Australian Governments for a productive discussion on enhancing cooperation in water sector and charting the way forward with respect to various ongoing and proposed activities. The Indian side was led by Mr. Anand Mohan, Joint Secretary (RD&PP), Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti while the Australian side was led by Mr. Matthew Dadswell, Head of Water Policy Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and the Water (DCCEEW), Australia.

The opening remarks by both the Co-chairs focused on the rich history of India-Australia Cooperation Programme in water sector and also emphasized on taking forward the cooperation through active engagement in various technical and policy activities intended for addressing challenges in the sector. Further, both the Indian and the Australian side noted with satisfaction the progress achieved so far, against the implementation plan including technical exchanges and execution of demonstrative projects leading to institutional capacity building for meeting the challenges of water sector.

Presentations were held on various ongoing activities (Tier-1) and proposed activities (Tier-2) which included Integration of MyWell App with NWIC, Australia-India Water Security Initiative (AIWASI), India Young Water Professional Programme, Water Accounting in Practice and Application, Basin Planning Co-design Workshop, Aquawatch Australia, Village Groundwater Cooperatives and in situ remediation of inland salinity. Subsequently, based on the presentations and the discussions held, the India-Australia Work plan for 2024-25 w.r.t Tier-1, Tier-2 and Tier-3 activities were finalized and agreed upon by both the sides. The meeting ended with concluding remarks from both the Co-Chairs.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Australia was signed on 10th November, 2009 and renewed on 5th September, 2014. Subsequently, a fresh MoU was signed between Government of India and Government of Australia on 20th May, 2020 effective for a period of five years for Cooperation in the field of Water Resources Management.

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Anubhav Singh