The Kuwait Environment Protection Society highlighted “the importance of preparing a second tier of Kuwaiti negotiators from various government entities involved in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).” Dr. Wijdan Aloqab, the Society’s president, emphasized that “the first training course for qualifying national negotiators for the UNFCCC, organized by the Environment Public Authority at the Saud Al-Nasser Kuwaiti Diplomatic Institute, lays the foundation for transferring expertise to a second generation of young Kuwaiti negotiators.”.
Dr. Aloqab praised “the keenness of Her Excellency the Minister of State for Development and Sustainability in the State of Kuwait, Dr. Reem Ghazi Saud Al-Faleej, and the Director General of the Environment Public Authority, Nouf Behbehani, to push national cadres concerned with environmental affairs towards achieving the highest standards of quality and efficiency.” She added, “The association commends the organizational efforts of the Saud Al-Nasser Kuwaiti Diplomatic Institute for organizing the course under the generous patronage of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”.
She stated: “The course provided an introduction to the nature of negotiations and the texts of treaties, agreements, and decisions related to climate change. The course was a revelation of the behind-the-scenes workings of climate summits and transformed into knowledge material summarizing the efforts of the Kuwaiti negotiating team over the years.” She added, “We look forward to it being a prelude to an advanced course that includes desk exercises and a review of different scenarios in which the course participants will practically engage, thus qualifying them to be national negotiators representing the State of Kuwait from their workplaces in various government agencies.”.
She explained that “organizing such a session has been an urgent requirement for years, as the presence of a national team of negotiators guarantees the rights of the State of Kuwait through its presence in the framework meetings at climate summits, which are of course numerous and very tiring and continue for hours daily and extend until the early morning,” noting that “the climate summit lasts for two weeks and meetings are held in more than one location during which the presence of negotiators is a direct protection of the rights of the State of Kuwait so that some decisions that affect Kuwaiti development, economy and environment are not passed.”.
She said, “Given the national negotiator’s need to accumulate experience and practice in order to perform his national duty efficiently, it is necessary to emphasize the authorities” keenness to strengthen the negotiators representing them and their sectors by not cutting off their participation and replacing them, but rather by strengthening it by accompanying a second tier of negotiators to acquire the various skills for this job under the supervision of veteran negotiators.”.
Dr. Aloqab suggested, “There is no harm in including trainees in the negotiating team to receive better guidance and more effective practical training. This approach is the best investment in building national capacity to represent the State of Kuwait in international forums.” She commended “the efforts of the national negotiating team from all sectors of the state, who presented a summary of their practical experience in negotiation in the form of lectures summarizing their experiences in the climate summit meeting halls.”.
She also appreciated “Engineer Sharif Al-Khayat’s praise for the role of Kuwaiti civil society organizations in climate summits, especially the Kuwait Environment Protection Society, which is the only society accredited by the State of Kuwait in the Framework Convention on Climate Change, as it is present in climate summits in the blue zone for governments and civil institutions accredited by the United Nations and the UNFCCC.”.
She emphasized “the association’s keenness for its members to attend these courses to enhance cognitive competence to achieve the required balance in climate summits, and to support the government’s approach that does not harm the environment or hinder development, noting that the association is always keen to present environmental issues at these summits and success stories that enhance the Kuwaiti position, through the side events held by the association in addition to the presentation in the association’s pavilion during the two weeks of the summit.”.
