Acting Deputy High Commissioner of the Australian High Commission, Dave Preston, on Tuesday urged Pakistan’s vibrant private sector to explore collaboration with the Australian companies that have expertise in the water sector. “More than one-thousand Australian companies are operating is this area. They have expertise and technologies that can help Pakistan tackle challenges such as improving water supply for cities, water harvesting and recycling, and ensuring efficient agricultural water management and distribution”, Preston added while speaking at a seminar titled “Nexus Matters – Institutionalizing the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Narrative in Sindh Province” organized by Australian Government and The Asia Foundation, in collaboration with the HISSAR Foundation. The event was attended by civil society partners, policymakers, academia, and media representatives to stress on the nexus thinking as a way forward for socioeconomic and sustainable development in Pakistan. On the occasion, Water Environment Forum Pakistan (WEFP) Chairman Nisar Memon, presented on the Global Perspective on Water Energy Food Nexus and emphasized for better understanding and coordination among the institutions. During the course of a panel discussion, speakers identified the priority areas for engaging relevant stakeholders around the nexus narrative in Sindh. Sindh Planning and Development Department Project Coordinator Dr. Fateh Marri spoke about Sindh’s readiness on meeting the nexus sectors and how the provincial government departments could effectively collaborate to find solutions and the need for applied research to achieve these. During the seminer Afia Salam, an Enviornmental Journalist, stressed on the role of media in promoting WEF. She said that that the media has to ensure that a well-researched narrative was promoted. Sindh Abadgar Board Vice President Syed Mahmood Nawaz Shah said that the small scale farmers have to be empowered with understanding of the WEF nexus and the farmer organizations have to be revolutionized in order to achieve that. Engro Foundation Director Mr. Favad Soomro highlighted the potential of the private sector for finding solutions through unique and innovative products and through increasing market access and investment in the critical sectors of WEF. International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) country representative for Pakistan, Dr. Mahmood Akhtar Cheema added that for adoption of the WEF approach in Pakistan, the global best practices have to be adapted to the local context which requires investment in WEF research and development capacity of the country’s universities. Wrapping up the seminar, Farid Alam stressed that ‘Nexus Thinking’ is the only way forward for achieving sustainable development in the country. He said that the Asia Foundation will support the provincial governments and civil society partners to bring different stakeholders together for improved governance around the nexus and integrated management of WEF resources at the provincial level. Published in Daily Times, July 11th 2018.