Federal Minister Totschnig Visits New York
Federal Minister Totschnig speaking in front of the General Assembly © BML / Réne Hemerka
From 22 to 24 March, Federal Minister Norbert Totschnig took part in the UN Water Conference 2023 (“United Nations Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the International Decade for Action "Water for Sustainable Development”) in New York. This was the first global water conference in 46 years. Around 2 billion people still do not have access to clean drinking water and around half of the world's population lacks access to adequate sanitation facilities. At the conference, Minister Totschnig emphasised the importance of cross-border dialogue on water issues and also put forward the European demand for a UN Special Envoy on Water. The main outcome of the conference was above all that water has now been added to the high level political agenda.
The high-level water conference was opened by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the two co-chairs of the conference, King Willem-Alexander (NL) and President Emomalij Rahmon (TJ). Minister Totschnig spoke in the conference plenary as well as in the UN Security Council and as lead discussant in a panel on “cross-border cooperation.” In addition, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Regions and Water Management took the opportunity to exchange views with the President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, and with ministerial colleagues from all over the world on solutions and challenges in the water sector.
As part of his bilateral program, Federal Minister Totschnig met with representatives of the City of New York, such as with Mr. Rohit Aggarwala, the City of New York's Commissioner of Environmental Protection and Chief Climate Officer and Ms. Jennifer Greenfeld, Deputy Commissioner for Environment and Planning for NYC Parks. At a ceremony at the Austrian Consulate General, he presented citizenship certificates to eight new Austrian citizens in the framework of the Austrian amendment to the citizenship law facilitating citizenship for direct descendants of victims of the Holocaust. As contribution to showcase Austrian Wine in the US market, a presentation of a selection of Austrian wines was organized by Austrian Trade Office in cooperation with Austrian Wine. The Minister concluded his second visit to New York with a visit of the current Hedy Lamarr exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York.
