The next summit will be hosted by the United Arab Emirates. Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets had a conversation with Minister of Climate Change and Environment of the UAE Mariam Almheiri. The parties discussed the climate crisis, environmental protection and the importance of natural ecosystems for human life.

Mariam Almheiri said that COP28 will be unique, unlike all previous climate conferences. Ruslan Strilets said that he had no doubt that the country would have enough strength to organize the event in this spirit. Few people consider the UAE in terms of biodiversity and developed ecosystems, but the country has really managed to build a garden city despite the climatic conditions.

Ruslan Strilets: “This year’s COP27 Climate Conference was a landmark for Ukraine. And not only because of the full-scale war of russia against our country. This year, for the first time, Ukraine had its own pavilion – our ‘island of invincibility’ among countless pavilions of other countries. This became a reality thanks to the support of the EU, Germany and a number of partners. It is important for our country to participate in the next COP. I hope that in 2023 we will focus not on the damage of the russian invasion, but on the successful overcoming of the consequences of the war for the environment.”

The parties also discussed more environmentally friendly technologies for extractive industry waste.

“It is important for Ukraine to change approaches to the management of this type of waste. After all, it is a much bigger problem for our country than household waste. And the UAE technologies would be very helpful for Ukraine. I hope to continue our dialogue with the UAE and that our waste management reform will soon have another success story,” Ruslan Strilets said.