SHARM EL-SHEIKH: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif arrived in Egypt on Sunday to participate in the ‘Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit’ being held from November 7 to 8.

The Egyptian government officers and officers of the Pakistan embassy received the prime minister, who was accompanied by cabinet members and other senior officials.

This summit is taking place as part of the 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP-27).

At the invitation of the Egyptian presidency of COP-27, the prime minister would also co-chair, along with his Norwegian counterpart, a roundtable discussion on ’Climate Change and the sustainability of vulnerable communities on November 8, the PM Office media wing said in a press release.

The prime minister would also participate in other events as a speaker, including the UN secretary general’s roundtable to launch the ‘Early Warning Systems for Executive Action Plan’, and the ‘Middle East Green Initiative Summit’ on November 7, being hosted by Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Mohammad bin Salman.

The prime minister is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders on the margins of the summit.

“COP-27 is taking place at a time when millions of people in Pakistan, and millions more in other parts of the world, are facing severe adverse impacts of climate change,” the Foreign Office spokesperson said in a related press release.

As a developing country most affected by this phenomenon, Pakistan would make a robust call, inter alia, for the urgency of climate solidarity and climate justice, based on the established principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

“In its capacity as the incumbent chair of the Group of 77 & China, which is the largest negotiating bloc of developing countries within the UN system, Pakistan would also lead the group in the climate change negotiations; including in thematic areas such as climate finance, adaptation, mitigation, and capacity building,” it added.

The COP is the supreme decision-making body under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which meets on annual basis to review and advance collective efforts to address climate change.

As the main stakeholder, Pakistan would continue to, proactively, make positive contributions to the global climate change debate, negotiations and collective action, the spokesperson added.