Egypt's Environment Minister Yasmin Fouad will lead negotiations on climate finance at the upcoming COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, she announced during a virtual meeting with her Azerbaijani and Danish counterparts on Saturday. Fouad held talks with Mukhtar Babayev, Azerbaijan's Ecology and Natural Resources Minister and designated COP29 president, and Dan Jørgensen, Denmark's Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, to discuss preparations for the summit. The meeting focused on enhancing the role of joint ministerial groups tasked with addressing climate issues, particularly the new collective quantified goal on climate finance. Fouad pledged Egypt's full support to Azerbaijan in hosting COP29, building on Egypt's experience as the previous COP president. She highlighted Egypt's role in managing joint ministerial groups on climate issues, such as climate finance and the global goal on adaptation. "Egypt will share its experience in building trust, ensuring transparency, and achieving consensus between the technical and political tracks of the negotiations," Fouad said. Babayev praised Egypt's support for COP29 preparations and expressed keenness to engage all climate actors. He emphasized the importance of balancing political and technical aspects of the conference, reaching consensus among various groups, and providing a platform for dialogue. Jørgensen expressed Denmark's pride in supporting COP29 and its commitment to achieving consensus among parties through transparency and trust-building. Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister and COP29 lead negotiator, outlined a three-phase roadmap for the summit, including listening to parties' concerns, initiating discussions among ministerial groups, and presenting results during preparatory meetings. The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Mohamed Nasr of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Amr Osama, Fouad's climate change advisor, Rashad Allahverdiyev of the COP29 Presidency, and Thomas Anker Christensen, Denmark's climate envoy.
