COP28: Caretaker PM Kakar arrives at Dubai Expo City

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar arrived on Friday at Dubai Expo City to participate in the climate change conference COP 28.

He was greeted by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres upon arrival at the venue, a statement by the PM’s Office said.

Earlier the PM Office had said that the interim prime minister will attend the World Climate Action Summit on December 1 and 2. He is expected to give a national statement at the summit on December 2.

Meetings of the prime minister with various world leaders are expected on the sidelines of the conference.

A day prior to his arrival in Dubai, in an interview with CNN, Kakar stressed the need to immediately operationalise the loss and damage fund - a global financial package to ensure the rescue and rehabilitation of countries facing the effects of climate change.

COP28: everything you need to know as climate change conference kicks off in Dubai

His comments come as nearly 200 nations agreed Thursday to launch the fund, in a “historic” moment at the start of climate talks.

The formal establishment of the fund long sought by climate-vulnerable nations provided an early win at COP28, where sharp divisions over the phasing out of fossil fuels were immediately apparent.

COP28

The 28th UNFCCC COP commenced in Dubai’s Expo City on Thursday with 52,000 party delegates and 90,000 non-party delegates joining this year’s proceedings.

A central focus of COP28 will be a stocktake of the world’s limited progress on curbing global warming, which requires an official response at these talks.

Double the size of last year’s COP27, the conference is billed as the largest ever.

More than 140 heads of state and government will deliver speeches over Friday and Saturday, starting with Britain’s King Charles III who will ceremonially kick things off.