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A post was circulating on social media stating that Saudi Arabia is facing a severe water crisis and that there is a plan to export water from Sri Lanka’s Sinharaja and Nakkalasa regions to Saudi Arabia as a solution. Below is a fact check we conducted regarding this claim.
Social Media Posts:
A post circulating on social media stated, “Everything is ready to export clean water from Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia…a monthly income of $25 million for our country.”
Many other similar posts have also been circulated on social media.
We worked to verify whether Sri Lanka is truly prepared to export clean water to Saudi Arabia.
Fact Check:
Amid the hostilities that began on March 28, 2026, Iran has launched missile and drone attacks targeting energy supply chains, military bases, and civilian areas in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. International media had reported that the military situation could lead to a water crisis in the Middle East, and that there was a risk of Iran targeting desalination plants. Those reports are here and here. Although Iran has threatened to destroy desalination plants across the Gulf if the US and Israel attack Iran, international media have not confirmed direct attacks on water treatment plants, particularly in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
However, on March 7 and 8, attacks were carried out targeting desalination plants in Iran and Bahrain and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has stated that the United States attacked a desalination plant in Iran. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry also said an Iranian drone had struck its power plant. The damage to Bahrain’s desalination plant reportedly affected the water supply to about thirty villages. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have also reported missile-related damage to desalination plants during the clashes.
There are no media reports regarding any plans to export water from Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia.
In this context, we checked whether there were any reports in the local mainstream media, the mainstream media in Saudi Arabia, and other international media regarding Saudi Arabia’s preparations to import clean water from Sri Lanka, but we found no such reports.
Saudi Arabia aims to meet 90% of the country’s total water demand through desalination by 2030, with plans to source the remaining 10% from groundwater and surface water.
Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest producers of desalinated water, and the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture aims to meet 90% of the country’s total water demand through desalination by 2030, with the remaining 10% planned to come from groundwater and surface water. More information on this is here.
The Gulf region’s dependence on desalinated water is predicted to grow further in the future.
The Gulf region’s dependence on desalinated water is predicted to grow further in the future. In particular, Saudi Arabia plans to invest about $80 billion in building additional power plants in the coming years, according to media reports.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
When we inquired, S. N. M. Sakif, media secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Vijitha Herath, stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would not be involved in such a project.
Director Export Agriculture – Export Development Board
When we inquired about this, the Export Development Board’s Director of Export Agriculture, Janak Sanjeewa, stated that before the recent military situation, some Sri Lankan companies were engaged in exporting food and beverages to the Gulf region in normal quantities, but that there are currently no plans to implement a special project to export water to Saudi Arabia based on the military situation.
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Conclusion:
Our investigation shows that social media posts circulating claiming that Sri Lanka is ready to export clean water to Saudi Arabia are false. Saudi Arabia has planned to meet 90% of its total water needs through desalination by 2030. The Presidential Media Division has confirmed that there is currently no plan to export water to Saudi Arabia, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Export Development Board have confirmed that they are not working on such a project.
Title: Fact Check: No Plan to Export Water from Sri Lanka to Saudi Arabia
Fact Check By: Pavithra Hansani
Result: False
