World Wetlands Day organizers announce the 2026 global observance themed around wetlands and traditional knowledge.

• World Wetlands Day 2026 will be held on February 2, 2026 (all day, Asia/Colombo time zone), focusing on the connections between wetlands and cultural practices, traditions, and knowledge systems of communities worldwide.
• The 2026 theme, “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: Celebrating cultural heritage,” emphasizes the role of traditional knowledge in sustaining wetland ecosystems and preserving cultural identity, with event calendar integrations provided via ICS, Google Calendar, iCalendar, Office 365, and Outlook Live links.

The United Nations, with Senegal as co-host, has scheduled a high-level preparatory meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference to advance Sustainable Development Goal 6 on clean water and sanitation.

• Event details: Two-day high-level preparatory meeting on January 26-27, 2026, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm (Africa/Dakar), organized by co-host Senegal to promote the achievement and accelerated implementation of SDG 6 (clean water and sanitation).
• Purpose and context: The meeting will agree on preparations for the 2026 UN Water Conference, focusing on accelerating implementation of SDG 6; calendar integration links are provided for ICS, Google Calendar, iCalendar, Office 365, and Outlook Live via the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) event page.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) will hold its Annual Meeting 2026 to address global and regional challenges, including a just, inclusive energy transition.

• Event details: Scheduled for 19–23 January 2026, from 09:00 to 17:00 (UTC+01:00), the meeting will gather leaders from government, business, civil society and academia to discuss growth, living standards, geopolitical shocks, and energy transition.

• Background and access: The event is listed by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) with multiple calendar integration options (ICS, Google Calendar, iCalendar, Office 365, Outlook Live) and further information available via the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 webpage.

• Date: 19–23 January 2026

  • Time: 09:00–17:00 (UTC+01:00)
  • Location: Not specified
  • Subject/agenda: Global and regional challenges, including growth, living standards, geopolitical shocks, and a just, inclusive energy transition.

The Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development of the Republic of Moldova has organized an Infrastructure Dialogue event with the private sector to accelerate strategic investments in transport and infrastructure in the context of European integration.

• MIDR convened entrepreneurs and sector associations at Digital Park to identify concrete solutions for more efficient implementation of road, rail, air, and naval transport projects, improve public procurement, clarify the regulatory framework, and strengthen public-private partnerships in line with EU and TEN-T standards, including development of logistics hubs and multimodal terminals for 2025–2026.
• Senior officials including Deputy Prime Minister / Infrastructure Minister Vladimir Bolea, Deputy Prime Minister / Economic Development and Digitalization Minister Eugeniu Osmochescu, Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu, and State Secretary Mircea Păscăluţă participated, with a live survey used to capture real-time business feedback that MIDR will use to adjust planning, contracting, and project implementation policies and procedures and to prioritize projects with strategic and cross-border impact and alignment to EU standards.

The European Union and India are continuing difficult negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with key sticking points around carbon and trade measures.

• India objects to the EU’s proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism and safeguard measures on steel, and is linking these concerns to EU demands for lower Indian tariffs on cars, slowing progress toward the target of concluding FTA talks by year-end.
• European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič visited New Delhi again to remove major obstacles, referencing the recently concluded EU–Indonesia agreement (September) as the “ideal scenario,” although he admitted the EU–India negotiations remain “extremely difficult” despite high-level political ambition from Ursula von der Leyen, António Costa, and Narendra Modi.