Senior energy officials from Slovenia and the Dominican Republic said Monday that Türkiye is well positioned to successfully host the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) this year.
Slovenian Minister of Environment, Climate and Energy Bojan Kumer and Deputy Minister of Innovation and Energy Transition of the Dominican Republic Betty Soto voiced confidence that Türkiye will successfully host the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Speaking to Anadolu at the sidelines of the 16th General Assembly of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Slovenian Minister Kumer congratulated Türkiye on COP31 being held in Antalya and expressed his belief that coordinated work would be carried out together with Australia.
Kumer, who served as President of the 15th IRENA General Assembly and handed over the role on Sunday, underlined that the world is currently grappling with geopolitical risks and economic fluctuations.
"Even though we live in a very complex world, I believe Türkiye is a very suitable country for the COP31 mission, and I am extremely confident that the organization will be successful," he said.
Kumer noted that during its tenure as Vice President of the IRENA General Assembly, Türkiye supported renewable energy targets and assumed a role that actively contributed to the global energy transition.
Emphasizing that Türkiye's goals of multiplying its wind and solar energy capacity are in line with this role, Kumer said: "Türkiye successfully served as a bridge between the presidency and Europe and other groups. In this complex world, Türkiye managed to overcome all these differences. This was extremely important in terms of putting institutional and multilateral interests ahead of our own."
- 'Türkiye's geopolitical position is critical for region'
Kumer stated that Türkiye is an extremely important country not only for Europe but for the entire region.
Pointing out that Türkiye's geopolitical position, situated between Asia, Europe, and Africa, is known worldwide to be highly critical, Minister Kumer said:
"Some of the very important gas connections stretching from the Middle East to Europe pass through Türkiye," he explained.
In addition, its openness to the European market in recent years has played a crucial role in relations.
"We see that Türkiye has gained rapid momentum in renewable energy and is taking on an increasingly prominent role in this field. This is a very promising development for our shared future," Kumer noted.
Kumer added that energy companies operating in Türkiye are making the best use of investment and operational opportunities in the European Union, saying, "I think Turkish companies are using this opportunity effectively and, by carrying their energy to the European market, are contributing to addressing energy gaps, gas shortages, and deficiencies in other energy sources in various countries."
- IRENA to present emissions-reduction efforts at COP31
The focus on collaboration and climate action was echoed by Betty Soto, deputy minister of Innovation and Energy Transition of the Dominican Republic and also President of the 16th IRENA General Assembly.
Soto said that, based on Türkiye's feedback in the context of COP31, the country is highly open to cooperation on renewable energy and climate change.
"We have good cooperation and relations with Türkiye in the fields of energy and climate," she said and added that IRENA will be in Türkiye for COP31, "where we will present our efforts and activities aimed at reducing emissions and demonstrate our determination to continue fulfilling our Nationally Determined Contribution commitments."
By Gulsen Cagatay in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr