(MENAFN- AzerNews)
Fatima Latifova
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The first official event dedicated to Azerbaijan-UK bilateral
relations was held on the topic of COP29 in connection with the
opening of the new administrative building of Azerbaijan's Embassy
in the United Kingdom, Azernews reports.
Attended by the designated President of COP29, Azerbaijan's
Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Muxtar Babayev, the event
also saw the presence of the UK's Secretary of State for Energy
Security and Net Zero, Ed Miliband, the UK's Minister for
International Climate and Energy, Kerry McCarthy, the Marshal of
the Diplomatic Corps in the UK Alistair Harrison, President of
COP26 and Member of the House of Lords Alok Sharma, the UK Prime
Minister's former Trade Envoy for Azerbaijan, Baroness Nicholson,
parliamentarians Baroness Uddin, Bob Blackman, Lord McNicol, and
other members of the diplomatic corps in the UK. The event was also
attended by the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in London, the
Ambassador of Honduras to the UK, Ivan Romero Martinez, as well as
the Ambassadors of Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, who are
part of the COP Presidencies Troika, high-ranking representatives
from The City of London, representatives from the Commonwealth
Secretariat in London, employees from the UK Foreign Office and the
UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, Gordon Birrell,
Vice President for Production and Operations at BP, members of the
Kensington and Chelsea Borough Council where the Embassy is
located, numerous climate experts working in the UK, and other
attendees.
In his speech, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the UK, Elin
Suleymanov, remarked that dedicating the first official event in
the new administrative building of Azerbaijan's Embassy in the UK
to COP29 is a significant occasion. He highlighted the symbolic
importance of the attendance of the designated President of COP29,
Azerbaijan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Muxtar
Babayev, and the UK's Secretary of State for Energy Security and
Net Zero, Ed Miliband. The Ambassador stated that Azerbaijan, which
will host COP29 towards the end of the year, is fully focused on
climate action and is doing everything possible to advance climate
goals that are crucial for the entire world. Suleymanov expressed
gratitude to the UK for its unwavering support to Azerbaijan from
the very beginning in this important endeavour.
Elin Suleymanov also thanked the UK for the hospitality shown by
Prime Minister Keir Starmer to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham
Aliyev, during the European Political Community summit held in
Oxford a few days earlier, as well as for the cordial meeting
between UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Azerbaijan's Foreign
Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. The Ambassador appreciated the UK's
efforts to contribute to the normalisation process between
Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Following Ambassador Suleymanov, the designated President of
COP29, Azerbaijan's Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources,
Muxtar Babayev, spoke. He referred to the recent working visit of
Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to the UK to participate in the
European Political Community summit, emphasising that the event
dedicated to COP29 held in Azerbaijan's new Embassy building in the
UK also highlighted the bilateral friendship. Babayev noted
London's significant role as a centre for climate action and
mentioned his meetings and participation in events during his visit
to the UK for the London Climate Action Week at the end of June. He
spoke about his meeting with ambassadors of small island states at
the Commonwealth Secretariat's headquarters, highlighting
Azerbaijan's close cooperation with the organisation to mitigate
the adverse effects of climate change in these countries. Babayev
thanked the UK, which hosted COP26, for its vital partnership and
support towards the successful organisation of COP29 in Azerbaijan.
During his current visit to London, Babayev mentioned that he would
hold official meetings with the private sector and financial
institutions to discuss the sustainable markets initiative and
talked about Azerbaijan's efforts and initiatives within the COP29
framework.
The UK's Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, Ed
Miliband, expressed his honour to participate in the first official
event in the new building of Azerbaijan's Embassy in the UK.
Miliband emphasised the importance of COP events in bringing
countries together to combat climate change and promote green
development globally. He underscored the significance of continuing
the measures agreed upon at previous COP meetings and reaching an
important agreement on climate finance at COP29 to achieve climate
goals. Miliband highlighted the importance of supporting countries
most affected by climate problems and reiterated the UK's readiness
to provide all necessary support to ensure the successful outcome
of COP29 and closely partner with Azerbaijan.
During the event, the original copy of the invitation letter
from President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan to Prime Minister Keir
Starmer to participate in COP29 was ceremoniously presented to Ed
Miliband, the UK's Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net
Zero.
The official representative of the Lord Mayor of The City of
London, Alderman Greg Jones, also spoke at the event, expressing
The City's readiness to support the successful organisation of
COP29.
The event continued with a reception.
It is noteworthy that this event, held in connection with the
opening of the new building of Azerbaijan's Embassy in the UK,
marked the first time a high-ranking official from the UK Cabinet,
the Secretary of State, participated in an event at Azerbaijan's
Embassy in the UK.
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