PM Shehbaz to visit Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt to participate in ‘Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit’ on 7-8 Nov 2022

ISLAMABAD, Nov 05, (SABAH): Prime Minister Mian 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. The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and other cabinet members and senior officials. This Summit is taking place as part of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-27).

According to a statement issued by Foreign Office Spokesperson Asim Iftikhar Ahmad on Saturday, at the invitation of the Egyptian Presidency of COP-27, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif 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. Prime Minister 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 Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, HRH Mohammad bin Salman.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the Summit.

COP-27 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 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 a main stakeholder, Pakistan would continue to, proactively, make positive contributions to the global climate change debate, negotiations and collective action.