Shoukry Takes Part in ISDB Annual Meetings in Sharm El Sheikh

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry, President-designate of the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), participated on June 2, 2022, in the Islamic Development Bank Group (IsDB) Annual Meetings held in the city of Sharm El-Sheikh, with the participation of several ministers and officials from various Member States as well as representatives of international and regional organizations and financial institutions.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesperson, Ambassador Ahmed Hafez, stated that the Minister of Foreign Affairs participated in the side event entitled “The Road to COP27: Transitioning to a Green Economy“ held on the sideline of the annual meeting, in the presence of a number of ministers and representatives of various international climate action stakeholders, led by Dr. Hala Elsaid, Egyptian Minister of Planning and Economic Development, and Dr. Mahmoud Mohieldin, Egypt's Climate Action Champion of COP27.

Hafez said that Shoukry delivered a speech during the event in which he reviewed Egypt's vision for COP27, which it will host and preside in Sharm El-Sheikh this November, emphasizing the necessity of moving towards comprehensive and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, alongside continued delivery on climate pledges announced by multiple countries.

Moreover, he highlighted the importance of exerting additional efforts by various parties, especially with regard to adaptation, mitigation, and climate finance, explaining that the upcoming Sharm El-Sheikh Conference aims to build on the momentum achieved during COP26 in Glasgow in order to realize further progress in all these areas.

Hafez added that Shoukry stressed, in this regard, the necessity for concerted efforts by various parties in order to deliver on climate pledges and transform them into a tangible reality; and therefore the Egyptian COP27 presidency is keen on communicating with all climate action stakeholders, including states, organizations, the private sector, financial institutions, civil society, and academic circles.

In this context, he referred to the importance for international climate action to be based on the latest scientific findings on the phenomenon of climate change, represented in the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The spokesperson concluded his remarks by noting that Shoukry affirmed the substantial importance of the issue of climate finance as the main engine of climate action at all levels, highlighting in particular the necessity of working towards providing climate finance to developing countries in a manner that enables them to fulfill their commitments, taking into account that they are the most vulnerable to the climate change effects despite being the least contributors to gas emissions.