On November 18, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev met with Patricia Janet Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth.
During the meeting, Patricia Janet Scotland expressed her gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the excellent organization of COP29, the first-ever Summit on Small Island Developing States at COP29, and for prioritizing their climate challenges during Azerbaijan’s COP presidency.
The Secretary-General also thanked Azerbaijan for its support to small island states through the financial assistance fund and its ongoing cooperation with the Commonwealth. Patricia Scotland praised Azerbaijan’s use of its space capabilities to analyze the climate issues facing small island states as members of the Commonwealth, and for establishing a data repository system. She also highlighted the numerous events held during Azerbaijan’s COP presidency on this issue, noting the mobilization of global space agencies in the process.
She expressed strong interest in continuing cooperation with Azerbaijan.
President Ilham Aliyev emphasized that addressing the climate challenges of small island states has been a key priority of Azerbaijan’s COP presidency, including the summit dedicated to this issue. He reaffirmed Azerbaijan’s commitment to continuing its cooperation with the Commonwealth and ensuring the climate issues of small island states remain a central focus. The head of state also noted that the solidarity achieved during Azerbaijan’s chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement would continue throughout the COP presidency.
They also discussed future prospects for cooperation between Azerbaijan and the Commonwealth.