UAE President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended today the opening session of the COP29 World Leaders Climate Action Summit, reiterating the UAE’s commitment to helping accelerate climate action and building a climate-resilient economy for the future. He also engaged in cordial conversations with several delegation heads, discussing bilateral relations between the UAE and their respective countries, as well as the important role of COP29 in enhancing international cooperation and accelerating global efforts to address climate change.
Inaugurated by His Excellency Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan, the COP29 climate conference is being hosted in Baku from November 11 to 22 under the theme ‘In Solidarity for a Green World’.
Sheikh Mohamed meets key figures at COP29
Upon his arrival at the COP29 venue earlier in the day, the President of Azerbaijan, and António Guterres, secretary-general of the United Nations, welcomed Sheikh Mohamed. Sheikh Mohamed then joined other leaders and heads of delegations for a commemorative photograph.
On the sidelines of COP29, the UAE President held separate meetings with His Excellency Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of the Republic of Türkiye, His Excellency Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, and Her Excellency Željka Cvijanović, member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
During the meetings, His Highness discussed with the leaders cooperation between the UAE and their respective countries in various fields, including clean energy, sustainability, and climate action, and ways to further develop these ties. The meetings also discussed the aims of the COP29 conference, with all sides stressing the importance of ongoing partnerships and global cooperation.
The UAE delegation accompanying the UAE President also participated in the opening session of the World Leaders Climate Action Summit.
Read | COP29: UAE hands COP presidency over to Azerbaijan, highlights historic UAE Consensus
UAE’s climate efforts
During his participation at COP29, the UAE President called on all parties to prioritize mutual understanding over division, stressing that the collective mission now is to work together for the greater good of humanity. He also underscored the UAE’s deep-rooted legacy of environmental stewardship and commitment to the principles of sustainable development. He noted that this dedication led to the UAE’s hosting of COP28 last year, during which the country championed international cooperation to provide an effective response to the first Global Stocktake assessing progress in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.
The UAE President also emphasized that constructive international collaboration on climate action can pave the way for a new era of sustainable economic and social growth that benefits all nations. He framed climate action as a unique opportunity for advancement, rather than a burden, noting that the historic UAE Consensus of COP28 confirmed a mutual global resolve to achieve a systematic, responsible, fair, and rational transition within the energy sector.
The agreement also provided a roadmap for meeting the ambitions of the Paris Agreement and succeeded in restoring trust in the multilateral system through commitments to previous financial pledges and efforts to mobilize climate funding for the most vulnerable nations and communities.
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