FM: Egypt to play leading role in 2018 on climate change

CAIRO – 23 November 2017: Egypt’s presidency over the Group of 77 and China (G-77/China) as of January 2018 will help Cairo play a leading role in adopting a unified stance of the developing states on the issues of climate change and the UN’s development and administrative reform pathways, Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry asserted on Wednesday.

Celebrating the UN Day, Shoukry said Cairo will continue its contributions to forging multi-party relations, which in turn could help the UN General Assembly perform its legitimate right in settling conflicts through focusing on the humanitarian and development work.

In May 2016, Egypt rushed to hold a consultative meeting between the UN Security Council and the Arab League in Cairo, in an attempt to strengthen cooperation between the two bodies, Shoukry added.

Out of Egypt’s recognition that the UN role is not limited to managing conflicts, rather resolving them, Cairo had focused during its membership at the UN Security Council in 2016 and 2017 on building a link between the mechanisms of peace and security to help reach an inclusive and fair settlement to international conflicts, Shoukry added.

As Egypt comes close to ending its sixth membership at the UN Security Council, Shoukry stressed that he was always keen to deal in detail with the issues of peace and security.

The international move to face the challenges of climate change should take into consideration the right to development and justice, in addition to abiding by the international law’s principles, Shoukry said.