Antalya:Prime Minister Tarique Rahman joined the World Leaders' Summit at the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) held at the Antalya Exhibition Centre in Antalya, Türkiye, on Wednesday afternoon.
According to United News of Bangladesh, Prime Minister Rahman arrived at the summit venue at 1010 am local time and was welcomed by the organizers. The event sees participation from over 150 heads of state and government, and it is scheduled to conclude on Thursday.
Prime Minister Rahman was accompanied by his wife, Dr. Zubaida Rahman, along with Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Abdul Awal Mintoo, and State Minister-1 for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir. Before the summit's opening session, he exchanged greetings with other global leaders and engaged in brief discussions on mutual interests in the Leaders' Lounge.
Following the World Leaders' Summit, Prime Minister Rahman is set to attend a Zero Waste Roundtable meeting. Additionally, he has planned meetings with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on the conference sidelines. In the evening, he will participate in a dinner hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in honor of the attending world leaders.
The conference, hosted by Türkiye with Australia at the helm of negotiations, officially began on Monday and will continue through November 20. It aims to address global warming with concrete measures amid concerns that current international efforts are insufficient. The discussions are taking place in the context of the ongoing war in Iran, which has resulted in increased global fuel and petroleum prices, prompting a reassessment of energy policies and investments in renewable energy.