Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen has urged the international community to fully appreciate the scale and urgency of the climate-induced migration and take collective action to mainstream the issue in climate change negotiations.
He stressed this point while delivering his welcome remarks at an event titled ‘Human Mobility in the Context of Climate Change: Building a Positive Narrative on Migration and Climate Action’ held on the sidelines of COP 27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
The event, jointly organized by the Government of Bangladesh, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF), brought together high-level representatives from State Party delegations, development partners, international organizations, academia, and civil societies to explore issues of human mobility triggered by climate change impacts.
Read: Bangladesh committed to path of sustainable development
Among others, Special Envoy of Ghana Presidency of CVF Henry Kwabena Kokofu, IOM’s Deputy Director General for Operations Ugochi Daniels, and Permanent Secretary for Water and Environment of the Republic of Uganda Alfred Okot Okidi also spoke at the event.
Ambassador Md. Abdul Muhith, Bangladesh Permanent Representative to the UN in New York delivered the closing remarks.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Momen was present at the launching event of the Global Shield against Climate Risks, an initiative led by the Vulnerable 20 Group of Finance Ministers (V20) and the Group of Seven (G7)’ for financial support designed to be quickly deployed in times of climate disasters.
Speaking at the event, Foreign Minister called on the G7 to mobilize new and additional resources towards the Global Shield, going beyond the financing commitments made under the Paris Agreement.
The launching event was preceded by a Press Conference where the Foreign Minister joined high-level delegates from Germany and Ghana.
Bangladesh is one of the first seven countries selected as a pathfinder country under the Global Shield.
Foreign Minister Momen spoke at the soft launch of the International Panel on Deltas and Coastal Zones at the Dutch Pavilon.
Read: Around 6500 become climate refugees in Bangladesh every year: Momen at COP27
At the event, Bangladesh joined the ‘Champions Group for Deltas and Coastal Zones’ at the invitation of the Netherlands.
Foreign Minister Momen said, “We must work on fostering multi-stakeholder partnerships with open, transparent and collaborative approaches to tackling complex climate challenges affecting our deltas and coastal areas.”
He also reiterated Bangladesh’s commitment to work together with the Netherlands and other deltaic countries within the framework of the International Delta Coalition.
He thanked the Dutch government for the technical assistance for developing the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100. The event was attended by Ministers for the Netherlands and Egypt, among others.
The Bangladesh Foreign Minister also gave on-the-spot interviews with a number of international media outlets, including the Egyptian TV and Nile TV.
He was also joined by Ambassador Md. Monirul Islam, Bangladesh Ambassador to Egypt.