Opening remarks on the occasion of 80th session of the WMO Executive Council

In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Dear Vice-Presidents of WMO and Regional Association Presidents,
Dear Secretary-General Professor Celeste Saulo,
Dear Permanent Representatives,
Distinguished observers and guests,

It is my distinct honour to welcome you all to the 80th Session of the Executive Council.

As President of WMO, I am using every opportunity to champion our WMO community. As you can see from the President’s report, I met with the President of Kazakhstan, as well as many other Ministers and Ambassadors.  During these missions, I strongly advocated for two important WMO priorities:

• Investing in the WMO Commons, our global financing mechanism to sustain and modernize our shared weather, climate and water intelligence infrastructure on which every forecast, warning, climate-risk decision, and resilience investment depends; and
• Promoting a successful Earth science ecosystem — one that brings together public, private, academic and philanthropic partners to strengthen the observations, data, prediction and services on which every country depends.

As you many may know, I have been recently appointed as a UAE Minister, while keeping my leadership role for UAE’s National Meteorological Service. For WMO, this creates further opportunities to engage at the highest level of your respective governments – serving each of you in promoting your lifesaving and bettering livelihoods’ services, underscoring the NMHS as indispensable pillars of National Security.

As we gather for this key session, please join me in extending a heartfelt welcome to the new members of the Executive Council. Furthermore, it is a distinct pleasure to formally welcome the newly elected President of Regional Association V from the South-West Pacific.

Taking this opportunity, I also welcome new staff who recently joined WMO and wish all of them great success in their career.
Together, with the inclusion of our new members, we will confidently steer the WMO forward.

Our work this week is important for setting out the decisions for Congress next year. Our EC Agenda this week is important for advancing our governance, strategic planning, financial management, and scientific and technical progress. We will consider the recommendations on WMO governance from the Joint Inspection Unit, provide guidance to finalize our strategic plan for 2028 to 2031, align priorities against constrained budges, and key direction and decisions to further advance our scientific and technical programmes.

Dear Colleagues,

We must confront a stark reality: The WMO, as is the entire UN system, is under an unprecedented financial crisis that directly threatens our long-term sustainability and strategic ambitions – EW4ALL, Cryosphere and Hydrology.

As of May 31, 2026, outstanding assessed contributions have surged to an alarming CHF 77.8 million. To that end, we are incredibly grateful to our Host Government, Switzerland, for forgiving our WMO building loan payments for 2025 and 2026, injecting a vital CHF 3.0 million in liquidity directly into the WMO General Fund. 

Ultimately, the uninterrupted delivery of our mission depends entirely on the urgent, and timely payment of assessed contributions by all WMO Members”. Therefore, I urge all Members to address this critical issue and ensure their contributions to WMO are up to date.

Dear EC Members,

To navigate the ongoing financial pressures, we need to execute a Comprehensive Strategy and lead by example.

I want to express my deepest appreciation and profound gratitude for the spectacular success of two financing vehicles:

• Climate Risk and Early Warnings Systems (CREWS) Initiative; and,
• The Systematic Observations Financing Facility (SOFF).

I thank every single one of our participating Member States and contributing partners to these financing facilities. 

As mentioned earlier, I welcome the addition of the new WMO Commons Fund, designed to promote a successful Earth Science ecosystem by involving Public, Private and Philanthropic contributions.  This fund serves as a critical lifeline for WMO's over the short-term as we transition into the upcoming financial cycle.

I am pleased to announce the United Arab Emirates has pledged US$ 2 million to the new WMO Commons Fund and already released the first US$ 1 million.

I request all Permanent Representatives here today to advocate for supporting vital fund through your respective governments.

I also call upon all Regional Association Presidents, to leverage regional platforms and to host Regional Investor Forums to directly engage philanthropic and private funders from across the respective regions.

Together, these actions will direct crucial financial support directly into the WMO Commons Fund.

Dear EC Members, 

It is timely for us to consider the recommendations for improving the governance of WMO constituent bodies. Good governance creates trust, integrity, and transparency in our organization.  Good governance creates confidence in the application of the organization’s financial resources. The JIU has provided us with a menu of recommendations for our consideration – some requiring changes to our Convention.

An important first step is to consider setting up an agile Task Force to assess the implications of the JIU report and recommend a course of actions, particularly in the context of amending the WMO Convention.  Furthermore, EC should decide or recommend other steps as necessary to improve and modernize WMO.

A modern WMO, and committing aggressively to innovative resource mobilization, we will show what a specialized UN agency can achieve.

"Before concluding, I would like to share a vision for WMO’s future financial stability. I foresee creating an 'Endowment Fund' by 2031 to generate annual deposit revenue to support WMO operations.

This fund will officially launch following the maturity of the WMO Commons.

In concluding, I would like to invite all WMO Members to take advantage of the upcoming UN Water Conference in Abu Dhabi in December —co-hosted by the UAE and Senegal—by actively engaging in and contributing to WMO’s vital water agenda."

Let us show the world that the WMO does not just manage the future; We build it."


Thank you.