Foreign Minister calls for faster action on climate change

Remarks by Oman's Foreign Minister to the International Conference on Development and Migration in Rome:

“I would like to thank our Italian hosts, and in particular Prime Minister Meloni and her team for convening this important conversation.

“Right now, as we meet here in Rome, regions of the world from Asia to Africa to Europe are struggling with the acute effects of climate change. These circumstances send us a message which we ignore at our peril.

“The Sultanate of Oman welcomes the thinking devoted to strengthening initiatives in social protection, job creation, and intercultural understanding. We welcome the recognition that securing sustainable development rests heavily on climate solutions

“We are fully committed to redoubling our efforts to meet sustainable efforts globally.

“And our dialogue today shows that we are considering issues related to migration more holistically. This is also very welcome.

“We recognise the concern of our European friends in the face of an uncontrolled and chaotic tide of migration. But quite frankly, unless we grapple with climate, migration will surely grow and run further out of control. Unless we grapple with climate, sustainable development will remain out of reach.

“We fully support the highlighting of respect for human rights, international law, and partnership between States as equals.

“Without partnership we can have no lasting solutions. In our interdependent world the only solutions are multilateral solutions.

“But this recognition, and all the words spoken today, are not enough. We need more action.

“We are going in the right direction. But still the world is moving far too slowly.

“The COP process, which we fully support, needs to go further and move faster.

“We look forward to engaging in COP 28 later this year. But in the meantime we hope to see more tangible progress, progress that properly reflects the sentiments expressed here today and the emergency we face.

Thank you.”