Baku: On July 22-23, the Heads of Delegation Shamakhi Retreat, the third informal meeting, was held with the organization and hosting of Azerbaijan, as well as in cooperation with Trkiye and Australia as the COP31 Presidency. The meeting brought together chairs of negotiation groups under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as heads of delegations of certain States Parties to the UNFCCC.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, more than 70 representatives from 34 countries and the UNFCCC Secretariat participated in the event. The theme of the Shamakhi Meeting, as in previous years, focused on the key priorities of the climate negotiations agenda, including climate finance, just transition, adaptation to the impacts of climate change, and the reduction of greenhouse gases, as well as the "Belem Mission to 1.5 " implemented within the framework of the Troika mandate of the Presidencies of COP29, COP30 and COP31.

The meeting featured an informal exchange of views on the outcomes of the 64th session of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies held in Bonn in June of this year, ways to overcome the main difficulties encountered during the discussions, as well as the possible contribution of issues to decision-making within the framework of COP31 scheduled to be held in Trkiye.

The speakers included Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP29 Chief Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev; Chief Executive Officer of COP31 and Deputy Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of Trkiye Fatma Varank; COP31 Chief Negotiator Sally Box; Representative of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on Climate Issues Mukhtar Babayev; COP30 Executive Director, Brasil's National Secretary for Climate Change at the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Ana Toni.

As part of the annual COP process, the Shamakhi Retreat has evolved into a significant platform. Its distinctive format provides an opportunity for climate negotiators participating in the event to exchange views in an open, transparent, and result-oriented manner in an informal setting. This approach facilitates more rapid resolution of problems that arise in reaching agreement on decisions expected to be adopted at the upcoming COP.

The event participants expressed support for turning the Shamakhi Retreat into an annual platform. The delegation of Ethiopia, as the host of COP32 set to be held in 2027, expressed their readiness to organize the fourth Shamakhi Retreat together with Azerbaijan in July of next year.