During his opening speech at the COP27 World Leaders’ Summit on 7 November, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi called upon heads of state to join him in his plea to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“This is my sincere appeal for this war to end,” emphasised the president. “This war must end […] it is not that I want to play a particular role in this affair, but I, like many others, am ready to act to see the end of it.”
Al-Sisi went on to explain how international instability has also contributed detrimentally to Egypt and its economy.
“Please allow me to say the following: my country is not one of the strongest economically,” Al-Sisi admitted. “We suffered greatly from the COVID-19 pandemic over two years, and today we are suffering once more due to this unnecessary war. I imagine the entire world is suffering because of the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
This is not the first Al-Sisi has stressed the importance of diplomatic solutions between Russia and Ukraine. In his meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in July 2022, Al-Sisi insisted that the conflict must end in order to “maintain international security and stability.”
Al-Sisi’s plea is an addendum to his speech inaugurating COP27’s World Leaders’ Summit, wherein he discussed the necessity of mitigating climate change and working towards greener, more sustainable horizons.
“Surely now there is no more time to hesitate,” Al-Sisi opened. “Every government knows what it must do. Every government must work to the extent of its ability to provide these solutions.”
Moreover, Al-Sisi emphasised that Egypt is on the road to ensuring a full “green transformation” in accordance with the goals set forth in the Egyptian National Strategy for Climate Change.
“Egypt wants to see a transition to a green economy: that is what we call for – concrete, tangible action that will meet these challenges. We need to be determined.”
In addition, Al-Sisi urged developed countries to “do more […] to face the consequences of climate change in developed and developing countries.”
“I invite you to send a message to the world,” said Al-Sisi to fellow heads of state. “A clear message that contains concrete measures for implementation […] I urge you to become the model that the world hopes for [because] climate change will never stop without our intervention.”
COP27, known professionally as UN Climate Change Conference 2022, is taking place in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh and aims to “showcase unity” against the existential threat of climate change. It has gathered over 40 thousand individuals across government, business, and civil society groups.
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