President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev has received Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Simon Stiell.

Saying that he was fascinated by the beauty of Baku, Simon Stiell congratulated the head of state on securing the hosting of COP29 in Azerbaijan.

President Ilham Aliyev thanked him for the congratulations.

Simon Stiell noted that the fact-finding mission of the UN is already in Azerbaijan and has held fruitful discussions with the Azerbaijani side, applauding the preparatory work carried out by Azerbaijan for the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - COP29. He emphasized that the employees of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change held very productive meetings and discussions with their Azerbaijani counterparts from various areas. He welcomed the inclusion of women in the organizing committee established in Azerbaijan for hosting COP29. Simon Stiell said given that COP had been held 28 times and considering rich experience of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in organizing COP, they are ready - as a UN family - to support Azerbaijan and share their experience.

President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that the decision to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan, with the unanimous position of the international community, is a manifestation of trust and respect for the country. The head of state said that the Azerbaijani side is ready to cooperate closely with this organization and the entire UN family to successfully conduct this event. Highlighting Azerbaijan's rich experience in organizing international events, the head of state underlined that COP29 will be one of the largest events hosted by the country, with the highest number of participants all over the world. President Ilham Aliyev said that Azerbaijan is taking all necessary steps from the perspective of both the organization and the essence of the event, and in this regard, the country highly values close cooperation with international partners. The President of Azerbaijan mentioned that volunteers will also be closely involved in the organization process of COP29.

The head of state emphasized that the decision to hold COP29 in Azerbaijan was achieved in the context of advancing the regional peace agenda, marking a new development in the history of COP overall.

President Ilham Aliyev provided information about Azerbaijan's initiatives in transitioning to green energy at both national and regional levels, expressing confidence that hosting COP29 in Azerbaijan will further bolster the country's efforts towards transitioning to green energy and developing cooperation with international partners in this domain.

Pointing out that Azerbaijan's chairmanship within the framework of the COP is devoted to a crucial topic - climate finance, the Executive Secretary noted that it stands as one of the most important agenda items of the COP, and stressed the importance of multilateral diplomacy and inclusive engagement with all partners regarding this matter.

The head of state stated that Azerbaijan has always attached great importance to multilateral diplomacy and has consistently pursued a very active policy in international organizations and multilateral platforms. In this regard, President Ilham Aliyev highlighted Azerbaijan's successful chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was highly appreciated by the member states of the Movement, and commended the country for the successful cooperation with other international organizations.

During the meeting, the importance of trilateral cooperation among the United Arab Emirates, which hosted COP28, Azerbaijan and Brazil, which will host COP29 and COP30 respectively, was emphasized.