On 13 September, a meeting was held at the Azerbaijan Bar Association (ABA) with the representatives of the COP29 Climate Law and Governance Initiative's Scoping Mission, who were visiting our country as part of the 29th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), to be held in Azerbaijan. The participants included Professor Markus Gehring, Fellow and Director of Studies in Law at Hughes and Fellow of the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Cambridge, and Tejas Rao, Researcher and Manager at the Centre for International Law on Sustainable Development at the same university.

The opening speech was delivered by Elchin Usub, a member of the ABA Presidium, who welcomed the guests on behalf of the Chairman of the Bar Association, Anar Baghirov. He spoke about the recent achievements in the field of advocacy, the memorandums of cooperation signed with all higher education institutions in the country that have a law faculty, the joint projects carried out within this framework and the opportunities created for students and youth organisations.

In addition, Elchin Usub provided detailed information on the ABA's close cooperation with various local and international organisations, emphasising the Association's focus on foreign relations and highlighting the success of numerous projects.

At the meeting, Gozal Huseynzade, Head of the International Cooperation Department of the ABA, gave a presentation on the reforms and efforts made within the Bar Association in recent years, including the enhancement of the prestige of the profession and the positive results achieved.

In their speeches, the guests expressed their satisfaction with their first meeting and appreciated the steps taken by the Bar in this area. They also highlighted the importance of COP29 being held in our country, the significance of the work being done and the important measures taken by both governmental and non-governmental organizations. They noted that new opportunities for co-operation had emerged. In addition, the guests discussed the directions of the work of the Scoping Mission and the events held.

The meeting continued with an exchange of views, discussion of future cooperation and various other issues of mutual interest.

At the end of the meeting, the two sides exchanged gifts.