Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh to Host COP27 in November 2022

 Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 1, 2021.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 1, 2021.
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Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh to Host COP27 in November 2022

 Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 1, 2021.
Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi speaks during the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 1, 2021.

Egypt will host the COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2022 in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh in November.

World leaders and heads of state and governments are expected to attend the summit.

Representing the African continent, Egypt’s hosting of the event will boost its status and attain the government’s efforts to enhance its position as a hub for major international conferences.

Public sector and other civil society institutions in Egypt are preparing for the event and launched the “National Climate Change Strategy-2050.”

The government is also planning to cooperate with various international companies to enhance its contribution to green energy plans.

Cairo organized a special session on climate change during the fourth edition of the World Youth Forum that was concluded on Thursday.

During the session, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced Egypt's plans to double its use of renewable energy by 30%.

Sharm El-Sheikh in South Sinai hosted all editions of the World Youth Forum. Also, the city hosted in November 2021 the 21st session of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African Countries (COMESA).

European and Arab leaders also held their first summit in February 2019 in Sharm El-Sheikh where kings, heads of state and governments and ministers from 50 different countries participated.



Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.