The IDRA World Congress thematic program’s first confirmed speakers represent MEWA, the Saudi Water Authority, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the World Bank Group, IFC, Global Water Organization, the Public Investment Fund, UN Water, UN agencies, National and Regional Sovereign Funds, and corporate leaders
RIYADH, KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA, 23 September. The International Desalination and Reuse Association (IDRA) and the Saudi Water Authority (SWA) today confirmed more than 100 speakers for the thematic program of the IDRA World Congress 2026 (WC26). The thematic program, spanning 25+ sessions over five days, runs alongside the peer-reviewed technical program of approximately 200 presentations, each 30 minutes long, and addresses the policy, finance, governance, and leadership questions that determine whether the sector’s desalination and water reuse solutions reach the communities and industries that need them. WC26 takes place 1 to 5 November 2026 at the King Faisal Conference Hall, InterContinental Riyadh, under the patronage of the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), hosted by SWA, under the theme “Driving Global Water Sustainability Through Innovation.”
The first confirmed thematic speakers include government ministers, deputy ministers, and senior regulators; heads and senior leaders of national water authorities and utilities; CEOs and executive leadership of major international water developers; and representatives of the World Bank Group, the International Finance Corporation, the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Saudi Fund for Development, the Islamic Development Bank, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the OECD, the Public Investment Fund, UN-Water, and the UN Global Compact. The full speaker list is below, with further names to be announced in the coming weeks.
“These speakers tell you what the thematic program is built to do,” said Shannon McCarthy, Secretary General of IDRA. “Government leaders and regulators setting the policy agenda, the heads of national water authorities running the infrastructure, the CEOs financing and building the projects, and the development institutions backing them. That is the room we have assembled. Combined with the peer-reviewed technical program of more than 200 technical presentations, the inaugural SWA Water Regulation Exchange, the KSA Water Sector Business Forum, the Circular Water discussion, and the Scaling Water Reuse Initiative, WC26 is the one event this year where every part of the sector’s future is on the table.”
The thematic program is built around six major threads:
Scaling water reuse. The world reuses around 8 percent of its water. Namibia, California, Singapore, and Spain have already proved it can be done at scale. Multiple sessions across the week tackle how the rest of the world catches up, including a dedicated session curated by the WateReuse Association on the US regulatory shift and the formal presentation of the Scaling Water Reuse Initiative’s “Half by 2045” policy brief ahead of the 2026 United Nations Water Conference.
Investment and delivery. Financing universal access is getting harder. These sessions bring development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds, UN agencies, project developers, and transaction advisers together on the next generation of public-private partnerships, blended finance, and the deal structures that move projects from plan to construction, including a dedicated MENA financing session curated with the World Bank and the Arab Fund.
The Saudi Water Story and the Business Forum. A high-level session on the Kingdom’s water transformation, and a half-day Business Forum for international companies, investors, and technology providers looking at opportunities in one of the world’s largest and most dynamic water markets.
Regulation and governance. The Congress opens on 1 November with the inaugural SWA Water Regulation Exchange, established by the Saudi Water Authority with IDRA as the Strategic Partner, the World Bank as Knowledge Partner, and with the support of ALADYR and ACADES. Six panels. Regulators from the Americas, Europe, the Pacific, and the GCC. And the official launch of the Water Regulation Exchange as an annual conference, starting in Riyadh in 2027.
Desalination, energy, and AI. The future of desalination is being redrawn by variable renewables, surging demand from data centers, and artificial intelligence. Sessions cover the new energy economics of desalination, AI in water operations from digital twins to autonomous plant control, and a fireside chat on closed-loop water systems through the lens of space exploration.
Circular water and leadership. A dedicated session on how circular water standardization can accelerate implementation, drawing on case studies from industrial users, utilities, solution providers, regulators, and finance. The women leading across utilities, technology, finance, and policy. And the closing question: Water Security 2050, how much the world will need and what it will take to close the gap.
The full thematic program, including confirmed speakers and session descriptions, is available at idraworldcongress.org. Registration is open now.
