Azerbaijan's COP29 leader meets Saudi wildlife chief to collaborate on climate resilience

COP29 President-Designate and Azerbaijan’s Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources, Mukhtar Babayev, recently met with Dr Mohammad Ali Qurban, CEO of Saudi Arabia’s National Centre for Wildlife, to discuss critical issues around water security, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience.

According to the Azerbaijan COP29 operating company’s press service, the meeting focused on enabling practical solutions to address resource management challenges, Caliber.Az reports.

“In discussion with Dr Mohammad Ali Qurban, the COP29 President-Designate tackled critical topics on water security, sustainable agriculture, and climate resilience, emphasising the importance of enabling tangible action for resource management, in the lead-up to COP29,” the statement reads.

This meeting is part of Babayev’s broader effort to engage with international counterparts on climate priorities. Earlier, Babayev met with Bolivian Environment Minister Alan Lisperguer Rosales at COP16 in Colombia, where the two discussed advancing climate goals through "multilateral cooperation and financial solutions to support sustainable development.” The statement further detailed that, at COP16, Babayev met with Dinara Kemelova, Kyrgyzstan’s Special Representative on Environmental Issues, noting that both sides stressed the importance of “strengthening ties to ensure climate resilience in Central Asia.”

This November, Azerbaijan will host the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), following the COP28 decision in Dubai. Baku is expected to welcome 70,000 to 80,000 participants for the summit, transforming the city into a global climate hub.

The UNFCCC signed at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, aims to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system. The Conference of the Parties (COP) serves as the Convention’s governing body and is tasked with overseeing its implementation across its 198 member states. The first COP was held in Berlin in March 1995, and the Convention’s secretariat is located in Bonn, Germany.

By Tamilla Hasanova