PGA Shahid returns to New York following conclusion of COP26 trip

President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Maldives Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdulla Shahid has concluded his visit to attend the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

The PGA ended his four-day official visit and returned to New York on Thursday.

During the trip, PGA Shahid delivered remarks at the opening of the COP26 summit, where he stated that the time to the right thing has arrived, as the globe has run out of excuses. He noted that the globe is facing an existential crisis and although there are resources and capacities to address the crisis, “we are simply not doing enough”.

He also shed light on the discussions at the “High-Level Week” at the UN General Assembly on October 26.

The messages of the GA membership highlighted the urgency of keeping within the 1.5 degrees target, the need to support vulnerable populations, the irresponsibility of not capitalizing on technological innovations and the importance of empowering women and youth, said Shahid, who added that renewable technologies are now among the cheapest on the planet and command strong public support, adding that efforts must be boosted to ensure that all countries have access to the latest technological innovations.

On the second day of the summit, PGA Shahid met with world leaders at the World Leaders Summit. Some of the meetings he held were with leaders from Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Barbados, Brunei, Canada, Comoros, Egypt, Fiji, Guinea-Bissau, India, Kuwait, Malawi, Maldives, Namibia, Palau, São Tomé and Príncipe, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, UAE and the European Commission.

As such, he met with the Chair of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera, President of Palau Surangel Whipps Jr, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of UAE Sheikh Abdulla bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of Egypt Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi, President of Guinea-Bissau Umaro Sissoco Embaló, Bruinei’s Second Minister of Foreign Affairs Erywan bin Pehin Yusof, President Carlos Manuel Vila Novaand, and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities, Edite do Ramos da Costa Ten-jua, of São Tomé and Príncipe, Frank Bainimarama, Prime Minister of Fiji, German State Secretary Jochen Flasbarth, UAE Minister of Industry and Advance Technology and Special Envoy of Climate Dr. Sultan Ahmed Ah Jaber, Chancellor at the University of Birmingham Lord Karan Bilimoria, United Kingdom’s Minister of State for South Asia, United Nations and the Commonwealth Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon, Tuvalu’s Minister of Finance and Climate Change Seve Paeniu, Secretary General of the Pacific Island Forum, Henry Puna, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa as well as Canadian Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador Andrew Furey among many others

On the third day of the summit, Shahid took part on the AOSIS Leaders’ Dialogue.