The theme of this year’s Summit was ‘Water for Sustainable Development: Best Practices and the Next Generation’. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa addressed the Head of Government segment of the Summit via video technology and stated that Sri Lankan government’s national goal is to improve water related infrastructure, including clean water supply and sanitation for all, in the next three years. The President further added “Sri Lanka welcomes investments, technology transfers, and financing for our sustainability efforts, as well as broader development assistance and cooperation for debt restructuring to support our economic recovery during this critical time,”.

The Opening Ceremony of the Summit was graced, by Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako via video technology. Prime Minister of Japan, Fumo Kishida, addressing the Summit added that improving sanitation is extremely important in eradicating poverty and announced an initiative to help the Asia-Pacific region address water-related issues in which the Government of Japan committed 500 billion yen (nearly 4 billion US dollars) in aid to the region over the next five years. The initiative will include measures against climate change, such as improving the hydraulic control capacity of dams and increasing hydropower energy. It also aims to expand facilities for water supply.

During the Opening Ceremony, the delegates adopted the Kumamoto Declaration committed to tackling water-related challenges in the region and it would be taken up for discussions at the United Nations Water Conference, scheduled to be held in March 2023.

Representing the Government of Sri Lanka at the Summit, Ambassador Sanjiv Gunasekara, Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Japan attended the Opening Ceremony and the Head of Government segment of the event on 23 April 2022.