Bilateral Meeting with the COP29 President, H.E Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology of Azerbaijan

Baku, Azerbaijan - FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu, met with COP29 President H.E Mukhtar Babayev, Minister of Ecology of Azerbaijan, on the margins of COP29.

The Minister welcomed the Director-General and expressed his appreciation for the support extended to Azerbaijan in the preparation for COP29, as well as throughout the years. He recognized the importance of the cooperation between FAO and Azerbaijan that would be further strengthened through the signing of the Letter of Intent for the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers, and the work toward its successful implementation in line with the Food and Agriculture for Sustainable Transformation (FAST) Partnership.

The Minister informed that the CO29 had already started to demonstrate its commitment to reduce carbon emissions with a breakthrough on global carbon markets, as the parties assembled on 11 November 2024 on the first day of COP29. He further noted that this reflected a critical early success by reaching consensus on standards for the creation of carbon credits under the Paris Agreement.

The Director-General expressed appreciation for the remarkable work done by the government in the preparation of COP29 and wished the government well with deliberations and conclusions arising from COP29. The Director-General also emphasized the importance of consistency in COP issues, stating that FAO’s role remained consistent on all issues from one COP to the next, and highlighted that putting food security at the center of discussions on the world stage was a priority. 

The Director-General appreciated Azerbaijan’s support to FAO and looked forward to further strengthening relations in support of agrifood systems transformation.