Morocco Takes Part in 37th Session of Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for Environment

Cairo – The Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment held its 37th session on Thursday at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the League of Arab States in Cairo, with the participation of several ministers, heads of delegations and representatives of Arab countries, including Morocco.

The Kingdom was represented at this meeting, devoted to the importance of environmental action and issues related to climate change, biodiversity, combating desertification and the sustainable management of natural resources, by a delegation led by Morocco’s Ambassador to Egypt and Permanent Representative to the League of Arab States Mohamed Aït Ouali.

The agenda included several items structured around two main areas, the first of which focused on following up on international conventions and meetings devoted to the environment, notably the conclusions of the 24th meeting of the Arab team responsible for biodiversity and combating desertification, the commitments of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification, nature-based solutions, and the interconnection between water, agriculture and environmental policies, as well as follow-up on conventions relating to chemicals, waste and ozone.

This area placed particular emphasis on Arab action on climate change, notably coordination of the Arab position in preparation for the 31st Conference of the Parties, as well as sustainable production and consumption patterns and preparations for the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development, the High-Level Political Forum and the United Nations Environment Assembly.

The second area addressed several environmental issues, notably the Arab Environment Forum, the Arab Environmental Mechanism, the environmental situation in the State of Palestine and in Arab countries facing environmental disasters, the Arab Environmental Capital and the Council’s Award.

It also addressed the proposal of themes for the 38th session and for Arab Environment Day for 2027 and 2028, as well as the report on environmental outlooks in the Arab region, the blue economy and international cooperation frameworks in various fields.

The proceedings of this session were also marked by the presentation of Environmental Excellence Awards to the winners, in recognition of their outstanding efforts and initiatives in environmental protection and the promotion of sustainable development in the Arab region.

This ministerial session was preceded by a meeting of the Technical Committee on the Environment, held on September 27 and 28, which examined several priority environmental issues for Arab countries, notably Arab action on climate change, international environmental conventions and the environmental situation in Arab countries facing environmental disasters and crises, in addition to other items on the agenda.

The meeting concluded with the adoption of several decisions and recommendations on various environmental issues, notably designating the General Secretariat, through the Council’s Technical Secretariat, to follow up on their implementation and coordinate with Arab countries and the parties concerned.