IN parallel with expanding political action and diplomatic consolations with all international parties to ensure the success of the world climate summit due to convene in Sharm el-Sheikh early in November, Egypt’s organisational preparations are in full thrust to facilitate the participation of the expectedly large number of delegates in the work of the COP27 summit. A key factor in systematising and enhancing such preparations has been the formation of an ad hoc ministerial committee and the ensuing meeting that President Sisi called with that committee on March 5 to review its action plans, especially regarding the intensification of inter-departmental coordination to ensure highest-quality preparations for convening the COP27 summit. Many steps have since been taken by the cabinet ministries and state bodies concerned to pursue the ministerial committee’s plans.
A few days ago, to cite the latest case of such preparations, a Civil Aviation Ministry team paid an inspection tour of Cairo International Airport to make sure that the facility’s capacity is being duly readied to receive the large number of Sharm el-Sheikh-bound COP27 summit delegates and offer them efficient and comfortable travel arrangements. The team inspected the embarkation, disembarkation and transit lounges at the airport’s terminals. The tour, according to a Middle East News Agency (MENA) report, also included such other airport facilities as the seasonal travel terminal, the tax-free shops, the distinguished service halls, the government lounges, the transit passengers hotel, the health quarantine spaces, the museum corner, the baggage conveyor belt system and the passport control counters — almost all the points that can contribute to offering the visiting delegates smooth, fast and efficient travel procedures.
Simultaneously, a Sharm el-Sheikh-based governmental ad hoc committee toured some of the city’s tourist installations and hotels to follow up on the status of preparations to handle the heavy traffic to accompany COP27 summit. Some 20 such facilities had been inspected by the committee until last Thursday and the committee will continue to visit and assess many more installations and hotels. Formed of the representatives of the Cabinet ministries of tourism and antiquities, health, environment and the South Sinai Governorate, together with representatives of the Food Safety Authority and the chambers of hotels, restaurants and tourism installations, the committee’s mandate covers an essential sector of the state’s preparations to host and chair the world climate summit. The inspection tours are meant to monitor the measures these installations adopt to raise their efficiency, the compatibility of health safety standards with relevant regulations and the commitment by all these installations to offer quality service to guests.
In addition to inspecting all such components of the capacity that tourism installations and hotels can deliver, the committee sought to ascertain that these facilities obtained a certificate of green practice qualification–yet one more significant prerequisite that reflects the comprehensiveness of the state’s drive to achieve sustainable and environment-friendly development. Invoking this new requirement also fits well in the context of preparations to host COP27 summit the main topics of which include the promotion of green economy as an applicable model for curbing Earth warming.
Discussion about this post