BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 8. The UK’s capital city of London hosted Tuesday a roundtable discussion on “The COP29 Summit: Navigating Climate Change, Peace, and Security” co-organized by Azerbaijan’s Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR) and the UK’s Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), and supported by the Azerbaijani Embassy in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Trend reports.
The event brought together high-level officials, experts, and representatives of the public and private sectors.
Addressing the event, Sir Alok Sharma, President of the 26th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, described the COP29 Conference, scheduled to take place in Azerbaijan, as pivotal for the future of humanity. He also said that he maintains close contact with the COP29 Presidency team, wishing them a successful hosting of this prestigious event.
In his remarks, Elshad Iskandarov, Ambassador at Large of Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and adviser to the COP29 Negotiating Group highlighted climate financing as a top item on the agenda of the COP29. He added that the discussions would focus on managing the financing by rendering assistance to the countries, most vulnerable to climate change.
Farid Shafiyev, Chairman of the Board of the AIR Center, highlighted Azerbaijan’s COP29 initiatives. The chairman mentioned that Azerbaijan supports the Climate Finance Action Fund (CFAF), which envisages contributions from the fossil fuel-producing countries to the green transition.
Other speakers included Fiona Clouder, UK’s COP26 Regional Ambassador to Latin America and the Caribbean, Neil Melvin, RUSI Director, James Sharp, former UK’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan and Shahmar Hajiyev, AIR Center’s Senior Adviser.
Elin Suleymanov, Azerbaijani Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland also attended the event.