Egypt’s FM Shoukry chairs 1st meeting of ‘COP27 Friends’ group

CAIRO – 19 October 2022: Egypt’s Foreign Minister and President-Designate of the 27th session of the UN climate conference (COP27) Sameh Shoukry on Wednesday presided over the first ‘Friends of COP27’ group meeting, which was held via video conferencing.

Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Ahmed Abu Zeid said that the Friends of COP27 serves as an informal consultative framework, including a high-level group of experts in the field of climate change, former presidents of climate change conferences and ministers of environment.

During the meeting, Shoukry said that the conference represents an opportunity for international parties to affirm their solidarity, unity and commitment to confronting climate change.

Shoukry also listened to the participants' views on ways to deal with climate challenge at the international level.

The meeting also reviewed ways to achieve goals sought by Egypt during its presidency of COP27 by moving from the stage of pledges to the stage of actual implementation on the ground.

Meanwhile, the participants in the meeting expressed their confidence in Egypt's ability to organize the conference successfully and produce the hoped-for results to enhance international climate action.