A conference and a panel session titled “Bridging COP29 and COP30: Diplomacy, Action and Climate Road Ahead” were held in Istanbul, Türkiye on Friday.

The events, co-organized by Azerbaijan’s Consulate General in Istanbul, the COP29 Presidency, and the Istanbul Consular Corps (ICC), gathered several high-ranking officials, including Narmina Mustafayeva, Azerbaijani Consul General in Istanbul; Babatunde A. Ahonsi, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Türkiye; Lazar Comanescu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC); Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, Secretary-General of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation; Yalchin Rafiyev, Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, COP29 Lead Negotiator; Fatma Varank, Turkish Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Türkiye’s Chief Climate Change Negotiator; Altuğ Karataş, General Manager of “Vat Enerji”, and others.

Yalchin Rafiyev also held bilateral meetings with Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, Secretary-General of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Lazar Comanescu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) on the margins of the event.

In their remarks, Narmina Mustafayeva, Azerbaijani Consul General in Istanbul; Babatunde A. Ahonsi, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations in Türkiye; Lazar Comanescu, Secretary General of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC); and Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, Secretary-General of the D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, underscored the significance of the event in addressing the COP29 outcomes and future initiatives on this track.

The event followed up with the panel session moderated by Gürkan Kumbaroğlu, professor at Boğaziçi University, with Yalchin Rafiyev, Fatma Varank and Altuğ Karataş among the speakers.

Yalchin Rafiyev provided an overview about Azerbaijan’s COP29 goals and achieved outcomes, including reaching full operationalization of Article 6 of Paris Agreement, providing high-quality and transparent carbon markets through which countries and companies can work together to meet their climate goals.

Fatma Varank congratulated Azerbaijan on great success achieved at COP29.

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