The Bahamas, Azerbaijan, Tuvalu and Tonga to Meet to Discuss Climate Change

9 May 2024

The Foreign Minister, the Hon. Fred Mitchell is leading a delegation on behalf of the Hon. Philip Davis, Prime Minister of The Bahamas, to Baku at the personal invitation of His Excellency President Ilham Aliev, President of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is the host of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP29 in November this year. The Government of Azerbaijan has identified the ‘principle of inclusivity’ as a central approach to their hosting. In keeping with this principle, President Aliev has invited the leaders of the three Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) who are most vulnerable to Climate Change–The Bahamas, Tuvalu, and Tonga—to Baku to personally hear their concerns and to invite them to help draft an Agenda that will reflect these concerns.

The Bahamas was one of a handful of SIDS represented during the most recent Non-Aligned (NAM) Summit attended by Prime Minister Davis. Sitting next to Azerbaijan during the 19th NAM Summit, the delegations discussed points of solidarity on climate financing; adaptation and mitigation; and loss and damage.

This visit will not be the first conversation, but it does represent the first time in the history of COP agenda setting where the host state has formally reached out to invite the countries most vulnerable to climate change to help shape the agenda moving forward.

During the meeting, the Azerbaijan government has pledged to review micro projects to benefit the communities most impacted by climate change, which will be submitted along with grant requests. This meeting between Azerbaijan, Tuvalu, Tonga, and The Bahamas is expected to deliver a historic declaration.

Notes:

Azerbaijan and The Bahamas established Diplomatic Relations in 2017.

The COP29 official websites are:
https://unfccc.int/cop29 (United Nations)
https://cop29.az/en (Azerbaijan)