Pakistan's PM to Visit Sharm El-Sheikh for COP27

Pakistan's Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will be visiting Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to participate in the “Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit” on 7-8 November 2022, according to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

The spokesperson added that Shehbaz Sharif will be accompanied by Pakistani Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other cabinet members and senior officials. 

This Summit is taking place as part of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27).

At the invitation of the Egyptian Presidency of COP-27, the prime minister would also co-Chair, along with his Norwegian counterpart, a high-level roundtable discussion on “Climate Change and the sustainability of vulnerable communities” on 8th November 2022. 

Shehbaz Sharif will also participate in other high-level events as a speaker, including the UN Secretary General’s roundtable to launch the Early Warning Systems for Executive Action Plan, and the “Middle East Green Initiative Summit” on 7th November; being hosted by the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HRH Mohammad bin Salman.

The Pakistani prime minister is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the Summit.

COP27 is taking place at a time when millions of people in Pakistan, and millions more in other parts of the world, are facing severe adverse impacts of climate change. As a developing country most affected by this phenomenon, Pakistan would make a robust call, inter alia, for the urgency of climate solidarity and climate justice, based on the established principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

In its capacity as the incumbent Chair of the Group of 77 & China, which is the largest negotiating bloc of developing countries within the UN system, Pakistan would also lead the Group in the climate change negotiations; including in thematic areas such as climate finance, adaptation, mitigation, and capacity building.

The COP is the supreme decision-making body under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which meets on annual basis to review and advance collective efforts to address climate change. As the main stakeholder, Pakistan would continue to, proactively, make positive contributions to the global climate change debate, negotiations, and collective action.