Friday, 09 October 2026
Cairo dialogue puts youth at centre of road to COP31
Turkey’s embassy in Cairo and Egyptian environmental youth group Youth Loves Egypt (YLE) held a climate dialogue ahead of the COP31 summit, bringing together about 130 participants from government, parliament, civil society, academia, media and the private sector.
The event, titled “Jisr” — Arabic for “bridge” — also drew members of the diplomatic corps. It opened with remarks by Turkish Ambassador Salih Mutlu Şen, who said climate change required shared responsibility and global cooperation.
Şen stressed the importance of young people having an active role in shaping and carrying out climate policy. He also outlined priorities for Turkey’s COP31 presidency, which is being pursued in close partnership with Australia.
The summit’s work would be guided by “dialogue, consensus and action”, Şen said, adding that the focus should shift from setting new goals to implementing existing ones in fields, industries and cities. He said the aim was for COP31 to go down in history as an “implementation COP”.
Australian Ambassador Joel Macgregor and YLE founder and president Ahmed Fathy also addressed the gathering. A Turkish embassy official presented the presidency’s priorities, while participants were introduced to the Arab Youth Declaration, prepared in coordination with YLE.
A panel discussion, “Road to COP31”, brought together former Egyptian water resources and irrigation minister Mohamed Abdel Aty, Arab League environment and meteorology director Mahmoud Fathallah, former Egyptian environment ministry adviser Karim Morsi, and Commercial International Bank sustainability head Dalia Abdel Kader.
Participants later met in working groups to discuss climate issues and exchange proposals. The programme also featured a photography exhibition, “One Flyway, Two Shores”, on migratory birds’ journeys between the Bosphorus and the Red Sea coast.