Al-Azhar Grand Imam (GI) and Chairman of the Muslim Council of Elders, Prof. Ahmad Al-Tayyeb, arrived in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, to participate in the opening of the twenty-ninth session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29), for the first time in the history of this conference. This participation comes upon an official invitation extended to His Eminence by President Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, during his meeting with His Eminence at Al-Azhar HQ in Cairo last June.

The Grand Imam is scheduled to deliver a speech on Islam’s position on the issue of environmental conservation and the climate change crisis, and ways to benefit from the religion in strengthening the role of religious leaders and symbols to raise awareness of this crisis and work to find solutions to this serious issue that threatens life on the planet.

On the sidelines of this participation, His Eminence the Grand Imam is scheduled to meet with several officials, religious figures, intellectuals and cultural figures, with the aim of unifying visions and activating joint efforts to confront global challenges, foremost among which are climate issues and the wars and conflicts our world is witnessing today.

It is noteworthy that His Eminence and several religious leaders and symbols signed the “Call of Conscience: Abu Dhabi Joint Statement on Climate Change” last year prior to COP28 in the United Arab Emirates. His Eminence and His Holiness Pope Francis participated virtually in the inauguration of the first edition of the Faith Pavilion organized by the Muslim Council of Elders.