26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26)

Sunday, Oct. 31, 2021

- President El-Sisi Heads to Britain to Participate in UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26)

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi heads to Britain to participate in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) for the heads of state and government that will be held on the 1st and 2nd of November in Glasgow.

The Spokesman for the Presidency stated that President El-Sisi’s participation in the climate summit fulfils the invitation of British Prime Minister, Mr. Boris Johnson, whose country is the president of the current summit. This is in light of the significant role that Egypt plays both regionally and internationally within the framework of climate change negotiations.

The Spokesman said the President will focus during the conference on topics of interest to developing countries, in general, and African countries, in particular, notably with regard to enhancing efforts toward strengthening international climate action. This is in addition to underscoring the importance of the industrial countries’ commitment to their pledges within the framework of the Paris Agreement, as well as stressing Egypt’s willingness to host the coming climate change summit in 2022.

The Spokesman added that the President’s agenda during his visit to Britain will include holding talks with the British Prime Minister to discuss enhancing bilateral relations that have been witnessing major strides over the past years so as to achieve the common interests of both countries. President El-Sisi and Mr. Johnson will also continue consultations and coordination on a multitude of regional and international issues of mutual interest.

President El-Sisi is also expected to hold a number of meetings on the sidelines of the summit with presidents and heads of state and government to discuss means to further advance bilateral cooperation and exchange views regarding various regional and international issues.

- President El-Sisi Arrives at Glasgow Airport to Participate in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26)

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi arrived at Glasgow Airport to participate in the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). The President was received at the airport by senior statesmen as well as members of the Egyptian Embassy in Britain.

Monday, Nov. 1, 2021

- President El-Sisi Meets the Austrian Chancellor

Today, at his residence, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Austrian Chancellor Mr. Alexander Schallenberg.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency said the President congratulated the Austrian Chancellor on assuming his new post. The President confirmed Egypt’s keenness on further advancing bilateral cooperation with Austria in all fields, particularly in trade, economy and tourism, within the framework of the cooperation relations and historical friendship between Egypt and Austria. He added that this was demonstrated in the numerous exchange of high-level visits between both sides over the past period.

The Austrian Chancellor underscored his country’s keenness on strengthening relations with Egypt, which represents a cornerstone of stability and security in the Middle East and the Mediterranean regions. He also stressed Austria’s aspiration to further enhance coordination and consultation with Egypt in order to step up bilateral cooperation, which will contribute to realizing mutual interests.

The Spokesman said the meeting reviewed ways to bolster bilateral relations, particularly at the economic and trade levels. This comes in light of Egypt’s efforts to improve the business climate, encourage the private sector and attract foreign direct investment, as well as the modern and integrated infrastructure Egypt now enjoys.

The talks also covered a number of files pertinent to regional issues and crises in a number of countries in the region. The President reiterated that the firm principle to settle the region’s crises is to achieve stability by restoring the concept and pillars of the nation-state, supporting their institutions, and boosting the capabilities of their national armies and central governments. He added that this shall undermine the activities of extremist groups and organizations that tamper with the resources of the peoples.

The Austrian Chancellor lauded Egypt's appreciated efforts in combating illegal immigration, terrorism and extremism, in addition to efforts to develop the religious discourse. This consolidates Egypt’s effective and influential regional role, under the leadership of President El-Sisi, in spreading a culture of tolerance, coexistence, acceptance of the other, and respect for the freedom of belief.

President El-Sisi and Chancellor Schallenberg exchanged views on the most important developments in the Palestinian issue, as well as ways to revive the peace process on the basis of international references. They also discussed Egyptian efforts to firm up the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the reconstruction of the Strip for the benefit of the Palestinian citizens.

Developments related to the Renaissance Dam were also reviewed. President El-Sisi stressed the high priority that Egypt attaches to its historical rights to the waters of the Nile River, making it an existential issue that requires the international community to exert all possible efforts to reach a legally-binding agreement on the rules of filling and operating the dam, in a way that preserves the water security of Egypt, particularly in light of the presidential statement issued by the UN Security Council, regarding the dam.

- President El-Sisi Meets Prime Minister of the Netherlands on Sidelines of COP26

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mr. Mark Rutte, on the sidelines of the United Nations Climate Change Summit held in Glasgow.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency stated that their meeting discussed ways to advance relations between the two countries in areas of common interest, particularly trade, tourism, and immigration. The two sides also touched on the ongoing cooperation in the field of water management and means to benefit from the Dutch expertise in irrigation and agriculture projects, as well as in the field of port management. President El-Sisi and Prime Minister Rutte also discussed deepening the existing cooperation between the Suez Canal and the Port of Rotterdam, in addition to ways to enhance tripartite cooperation between Egypt and the Netherlands in Africa, in light of the two sides’ common interest in supporting development in the African continent. The possibility of sustaining Dutch investments in Egypt was also discussed, in light of the encouraging climate for investment and Egypt’s position as an export gateway to the African continent.

The meeting also witnessed discussions on the latest developments on a number of regional issues of common interest. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands indicated his country's keenness to enhance cooperation with Egypt to maintain regional peace and security in the Middle East and Africa. Mr. Rutte also expressed his appreciation for Egypt’s efforts to reach political solutions to the various crises that its turbulent regional surrounding is going through, ultimately contributing to the restoration of stability and security to the region’s countries.

- President El-Sisi’s Activities on the Sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Prime Minister of the Libyan Government, Abdul-Hamid Dbeibah, in Glasgow.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, in Glasgow.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Amir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, in Glasgow.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, in Glasgow.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in Glasgow.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Lebanese Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, in Glasgow.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Kuwait's Prime Minister, Sabah al-Khalid al-Sabah, in Glasgow.

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with President of Armenia, Armen Sarkissian, in Glasgow.

- President El-Sisi Meets the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi, on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), in Glasgow.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency said the two Presidents expressed their satisfaction at the outstanding level of their countries’ bilateral relations, at the level of political consultations and coordination as well as economic cooperation, which is witnessing unprecedented progress in the history of the two countries’ bilateral relations. The Congolese President extended his gratitude to President El-Sisi for Egypt’s ongoing support for his country during this important phase of its history, constituting a model of cooperation, consultation and mutual support among African countries.

President El-Sisi lauded the Democratic Republic of Congo’s efforts during its chairmanship of the African Union to achieve the developmental aspirations of the African continent and promote its issues and positions in international fora. This is in addition to its valued endeavors to settle the Ethiopian Renaissance Dam crisis. President El-Sisi reiterated Egypt’s firm position regarding this issue as well as its vision, which is based on actively engaging in negotiations aimed at reaching a legally binding agreement regarding the filling and operation of the dam, under the umbrella of the African Union and in consistency with the presidential statement issued by the United Nation’s Security Council regarding this matter.

- President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi’s Speech at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26)

Full text of the speech delivered by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26):

In the name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be here amongst you today to discuss the issue of climate that is affecting us all.
The latest report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has confirmed that enhancing climate action to achieve the threshold of 1.5 degrees has become inevitable and must not be delayed.

Therefore, I will focus today on the following points:

First: Egypt has initiated serious steps to apply a sustainable development model, at the heart of which lies climate change and adaptation to climate change. This model aims for government-funded green projects to reach 50% by 2025 and 100% by 2030.

For example, sources of renewable energy represent today around 20% of the energy mix in Egypt. We work on bringing it to 42% by 2035, coinciding with the rationalization of energy subsidies. Egypt is also working toward the transition to clean transportation by expanding the metro, rail and electric vehicle networks, preparing the necessary infrastructure for that, and establishing smart and sustainable cities. This is in addition to the implementation of projects to rationalize water consumption, canal lining and the integrated management of coastal areas.

To fund those projects, Egypt has recently issued the first Green bonds at a value of 750 million US dollars. To place these efforts within their institutional framework, Egypt has completed the preparation of a national strategy for climate change 2050, which will open the way for Egypt to update its Nationally Determined Contributions so that the policies, objectives and measures encompassed in these contributions become integral to the state’s developmental efforts and its endeavors to recover from the repercussions of the Coronavirus, COVID-19, not a burden on it.

Second: Egypt understands its duties and is also aware of the magnitude of challenges that all developing countries are facing. Therefore, I would like to emphasize that developing countries’ implementation of their commitments to address climate change is conditioned by the amount of support they receive. This especially includes funding that is considered a keystone and the main determinant of our countries’ ability to raise their climate ambitions within the balanced framework that the Paris Agreement represents, which we should maintain in order to ensure boosting efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to the negative repercussions of climate change on equal footing.

We are concerned about the gap between the available funding and the actual needs of developing countries as well as the obstacles that our countries face to have access to it. Therefore, the developed countries must fulfill their pledges to provide 100 billion US dollars annually to fund climate in the developing countries. We confirm our support to the UN Secretary-General’s call for the funding allocated to adaptation not to be half of the available funding and the importance of commencing deliberations concerning the new post-2025 financing goal.

Third: Although it is not responsible for the climate change crisis, the African continent faces the most negative repercussions and the subsequent economic, social, security and political consequences. Nevertheless, the continent is considered a model for serious climate action, as much as its capabilities and the support that it receives allow. Therefore, Egypt calls for the need to provide the African continent with special treatment, especially within the framework of implementing the Paris Agreement, given its special conditions and the challenges it faces.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am confident that our summit’s deliberations and outcomes will convey our political commitment to face climate change and adapt to its negative impacts. I am certain that this will reach our delegations that are ready to begin negotiating the proposed issues on the summit’s agenda and to be motivated to come up with positive results.
I would also like to welcome the Glasgow committee and the reports it will issue and express our support for the UK’s presidency of the conference, with which we will work over the coming days and months, leading to the next session of the conference, which we look forward to hosting in Egypt on behalf of the African continent.

During our presidency, we will seek to promote international climate action to reach the Paris Agreement goals so as to realize the interests of the peoples of our continent and the entire world.

Thank you."

- President El-Sisi Meets the UK Prime Minister at COP26 in Glasgow

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with British Prime Minister, Mr. Boris Johnson, on the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow.

The Spokesman for the Presidency said that during the talks, Mr. Johnson welcomed the President’s visit to Glasgow, and valued the current firm bonds between Egypt and Britain as well as the growing momentum in the two countries’ relations. The UK Prime Minister affirmed that Egypt is a key partner of Britain in the Middle East, and looked forward to strengthening bilateral relations in an array of fields.

UK Prime Minister, Mr. Johnson, expressed his appreciations and congratulations to the President for Egypt’s achievements and ambitious developmental efforts. He underscored Britain’s support for these efforts under the leadership of President El-Sisi.

President El-Sisi expressed his appreciation for the recent progress in bilateral relations in all fields. The President affirmed that Egypt looks forward to bolstering bilateral cooperation with Britain in the coming period, and to enhancing political coordination and exchange of views with regard to various issues of mutual interest.

The Spokesman noted that the two sides agreed on opening up new prospects of cooperation between the two countries, and on enhancing the engagement of Britain in the priorities of Egypt’s development plans. This is in addition to supporting bilateral cooperation across various fields, especially investment, security, military and intelligence areas as well as the tourism, health and education sectors.

The talks also tackled the latest developments in the global climate position. President El-Sisi expressed his appreciation for the efforts Britain has exerted to ensure convening the global climate summit despite all difficulties due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international meetings. President El-Sisi affirmed Egypt’s position in support of Britain’s presidency of the conference, stressing its confidence that the conference will yield balanced outcomes for the benefit of all parties. The President noted that Egypt seeks to host COP27 in 2022 following the end of Britain’s presidency.

Tuesday, Nov.2, 2021

- President El-Sisi Meets the President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with the President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, Professor Jackie Taylor.

The Spokesman for the Egyptian Presidency said the President of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow confirmed that the college values the recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the Egyptian Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research. The MoU aims at enhancing the Royal College’s efforts to support education, training and professional appraisal in the Egyptian health sector, which would help in following the highest standards possible of healthcare. Professor Taylor stressed the college’s intention to establish a cooperation partnership with the specialized Egyptian authorities in order to transfer academic and practical expertise to the medical and healthcare sector in Egypt. This comes in light of President El-Sisi’s remarkable efforts to further advance the development and construction process in all fields, which provides a promising environment for this partnership and increases its opportunities for success.

President El-Sisi underlined Egypt’s interest to develop the education sector and scientific research and improve the health sector. This shall be achieved by seeking to establish partnerships with high-end international institutions, including reputable ones. The President lauded the MoU signed with the Royal College as one of the most important bilateral cooperation projects between both countries. President El-Sisi asserted that it opens up new prospects to strengthen this cooperation by generalizing this experience with UK universities and research institutions in various fields. This cooperation would allow the establishment of the Royal College’s office for physicians and surgeons in Cairo, in addition to training and qualifying doctors in line with the highest international standards, while increasing scholarships for Egyptian students to study in Britain.

- President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Exchanges Greetings with the Egyptian Community in Scotland

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi exchanged greetings with the citizens of the Egyptian community at his official residence in Scotland.

- President El-Sisi in Egypt; Returns after His Participation at COP26 UN Climate Change Conference

President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi returned to Egypt after participating in the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow.