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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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