Arnous at the G77+China Summit:  The terrorist war on Syria has increased environmental challenges

Syria’s Prime Minister Hussein Arnous on Saturday made a speech at the summit of G77 and China being held in Dubai on the sidelines of the World Climate Action Summit (COP28).

He said that the common challenges facing the G77 and China require work to achieve a joint response, noting the determination of these countries to enhance their efforts to defend their common interests and confront the challenges they face as a result of climate change global warming and the resulted natural disasters.

The premier thanked Cuba for the invitation to hold this summit, and highly appreciated the United Arab Emirates’ hosting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Holding the G77 and China Summit in Dubai, expresses the deep solidarity and partnership between the countries of the group, and affirms the determination of the group’s members to enhance efforts to defend their common interests and address the challenges facing them, Arnous said.

Engineer Arnous pointed out that Middle East region has for decades been witnessing a significant decline in average of rainfall which negatively impacted the agricultural production and led to a significant decline in the per capita share of water.

He pointed out that the terrorist war, waged against Syria over the past years, has increased environmental challenges. “Over the past years, we have witnessed the extraction of Syrian oil through primitive methods by terrorist organizations and separatist militias loyal to foreign occupation forces. Water has also been used as a weapon by a neighboring country that saw in depriving millions of Syrians of water and reducing the flow rates of the Euphrates River as a pressure tool to achieve its political interests,” he clarified.

He pointed out that the unjust coercive measures imposed by the United States and the European Union on the Syrian people have deprived the people of their basic needs, including fuel and gas, which unfortunately prompted part of them to cut down trees to be used for heating purposes and living activities.

“Despite all challenges, Syria has taken many steps in the field of alternative energy and has enacted new laws to encourage investors to establish power generation plants, based on renewable energies, and has facilitated procedures to attract foreign investments in this sector,” Arnous said.

He stressed that the Syrian government continues to make great efforts to support the ability of citizens to withstand the negative impacts of climate change, combat poverty and fragility, develop the agricultural sector, and improve access to basic services, calling on the Group of 77 and China’s support for its efforts to overcome these challenges and achieve the immediate, complete and unconditional lifting of the illegal coercive measures from which many countries are suffering.

Hamda Mustafa