Ahmed bin Ali Al Sayegh, Minister of State and the UAE Sherpa to the G20 process, led the UAE delegation participating in the first G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting of 2024, which focused on the Group’s role in addressing ongoing international tensions and achieving the desired reforms of the global governance system.

The UAE’s participation in this meeting follows the country’s invitation to participate in the G20 for the third consecutive year as a guest country.

Moreover, the UAE was recently invited by the presidency of the Group, represented by the Federal Republic of Brazil, to participate in the events of the Group in 2024, which is held under the theme: “Building a Just World and Sustainable Planet”. The Brazilian presidency set the Group’s priorities that focus on developing an international governance system, combating hunger and poverty, addressing climate change and energy transitions. During the UAE’s intervention at the meeting, Al Sayegh underscored that the contemporary world faces concerns which challenge global determination and the ability to collaborate. Furthermore, the minister added: “International tensions, whether geopolitical conflicts, economic disparities, or environmental crises, require a coordinated and multilateral response.”

Al Sayegh also stated: “The UAE’s significant and active contributions to advance G20 priorities were evidenced by its participation as a guest country, when it made significant contributions concerning various topics including the COVID-19 post-pandemic recovery, climate change, energy transition, and achieving sustainable development goals.” He reaffirmed the UAE’s support for the priorities announced by Brazil for the G20, that focus on combating hunger and poverty, sustainable development, energy transitions, and global governance.

Furthermore, Al Sayegh reiterated the importance of building upon the significant outcomes and successes achieved during the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), which recently concluded its successful agenda in the UAE. In addition to delivering with the historic UAE Consensus, the Conference also succeeded in collecting and stimulating more than USD 85 billion in financial commitments, launched 11 pledges and declarations and garnered historic international endorsements. In the meantime, the minister said that the UAE stresses that the immediate priority is to end the violence, and protect Gaza’s civilian population, as well as to ensure the opening of humanitarian relief corridors for the delivery of aid. This meeting is the UAE’s fifth participation since the establishment of the Group. The UAE has participated in previous G20 events and summits as a guest country in India in 2023, Indonesia in 2022, Saudi Arabia in 2020, and France in 2011.