Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has assured the United Arab Emirates of all-out support from Bangladesh to the UNFCCC COP28 presidency, including as a member of the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) Troika.
He gave this assurance while meeting with COP28 president-designate and UAE Minister for Industry and Advanced Technology Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber at his office on Thursday, the foreign ministry said.
The Bangladesh foreign minister thanked the COP28 president-designate for visiting the country and meeting government, civil society and youth representatives. Al Jaber expressed profound satisfaction with his meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina upon arrival in Dhaka.
Momen stressed that Bangladesh would like to see a concrete outcome on the proposed loss and damage fund. In response, the UAE minister shared his optimism about operationalizing the fund during his tenure as the COP28 president.
The foreign minister reiterated the importance of addressing the situation of those displaced due to climate change, adding that global leadership should share the burden of rehabilitating climate migrants. The UAE minister agreed that the issue should be dealt with in the context of loss and damage.
The Bangladesh foreign minister said in order to save planet Earth for future generations, countries responsible for carbon emission and global warming must adopt aggressive Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), so that the global temperature increase remained below 1.5 degrees Celsius. He further stressed that $100 billion in financing for climate must be arranged as promised.
Momen commended the UAE's initiative of greening the country and offered support with seeds, saplings and human resources to further accelerate the efforts. Al Jaber responded positively to this offer.
The two ministers also discussed the possibility of deepening cooperation on energy supply and renewable energy. The UAE minister proposed undertaking a needs assessment in Bangladesh to step up cooperation in these areas.
Both expressed interest in observing the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in a befitting manner next year.
The COP28 president-designate conveyed the greetings of the UAE foreign minister to Momen.
Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber arrived in Bangladesh on Thursday on an eight-hour trip and, among other engagements, met with Zayed Sustainability Prize Winners at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was received at Dhaka airport by State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam.
