The regional secretariat has continued activities to strengthen the collaboration with strategic partners at regional level. After 2017 year ending activities with the Volta Basin Authority, a meeting was held on 31st January 2018 at VBA to exchange on concrete actions to carry out jointly by the two institutions.

On Wednesday 31 January 2018, the Via Water project was launched in Cotonou, Benin. The launch ceremony took place under the sponsorship of the Deputy Secretary General of the Minister of Water and Mines, in the presence of the actors of the consortium in charge of the said project, the representatives of public structures of the sub-sector, the Ministry of Health, the young water professionals of the Beninese Network of Youth of the World Water Parliament (RB/PMJE) and the economic operators of the water sector.

On Thursday 11 January 2018, Mr. André TOUPE outgoing chair of the Benin Country Water Partnership has handed over to his successor, Professor Euloge AGBOSSOU.

The Water Management Commission for the Sélingué and Markala reservoirs (CGESM) was in conclave in Sélingué to take stock of the various recommendations of their previous session; namely: the report on the monitoring of the Sélingué hydroelectric dam from 1 to 20 January 2018 and the results of the simulation of storage and filling 2018 of this dam, as well as the monitoring of the management of the Markala dam in response to the water deficit this year.

On Tuesday 16 January, a national stakeholder information workshop on the development of three Municipal Strategic Plans for public water supply and sanitation services in Mali was organized.

On 26 December 2017, the Malian Minister of Energy and Water, Malick Alhousseini, opened a three-day workshop to inform and sensitize stakeholders on the state of the Niger River. Organized by the Department of Energy and Water in collaboration with the Department of Environment, Sanitation and Sustainable Development, the workshop aims to inform and sensitize all water stakeholders on the state of the Niger River and the current year's hydrological deficit.

The Country Water Partnership (CWP) of Mali which is benefitting from a financing to help in the implementation of the IWRM Plan funded by DANIDA visited in December the CWPs in Burkina Faso and Benin.

The Country Water Partnership (CWP) of Mali held an extraordinary meeting of its partners on 27 January 2018 to review its basic texts (Statutes and regulations). The main changes are that the permanent secretary who was elected is now giving place to a recruited Executive secretary and is heading a secretariat that may include recruited personnel for projects and programmes.

On 17 and 18 January 2018, the National Hydraulic Directorate organized the workshop to validate Guinea's National Water Policy with IUCN funding. CWP Guinea took part in this important meeting the chair, Mr. El Hadj Mamadou Alpha HANN and the Executive Secretary, Mr. Hafiziou BARRY who moderated the workshop.

Following a meeting on 12th January 2018, the Executive Board of the Guinea Country Water Partnership (CWP) was mandated to start the implementation of the Action Plan by organizing official visits in order to improve the visibility of the national network.