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Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will attend the 31st session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye.
The conference is the first of its kind that Türkiye will host. The talks run from Nov. 9 to Nov. 20 at the Antalya Expo Center.
Türkiye and Australia agreed at the previous COP, in November 2025, that Türkiye would host COP31 after Australia withdrew its bid to stage the event in Adelaide. Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s environment, urbanization and climate change minister, serves as COP31 president. Australia’s climate and energy minister, Chris Bowen, holds the role of “President of Negotiations” and chairs the formal talks. Türkiye leads the Action Agenda, the non-negotiated part of the conference.
It is the first UN climate summit in which presidency powers are divided between two countries. Kurum said in September that the two countries “are not co-presidents” and that the final decision rests with the COP31 presidency.
A UN document describes the Australian negotiations president as having “exclusive authority” over the negotiations, and says any disagreement would be resolved through continued consultations. Both sides have described their cooperation as smooth.
A World Leaders’ Summit is scheduled for Nov. 11 and 12 in Antalya, on the third and fourth days of the conference. Kurum said on Oct. 22 that 85 world leaders had confirmed their attendance. Organizers expect more than 1 million visitors, and Kurum estimated the event would generate about $2 billion in direct economic activity for Antalya.
Azerbaijan hosted COP29 in Baku in 2024, which makes Aliyev’s participation in Antalya a notable handover moment for the host countries. The Turkish media reports cited by APA did not specify when Aliyev would travel to Antalya or in what format he would take part.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Azerbaijan on Sunday, Nov. 8, for Victory Day celebrations marking the sixth anniversary of Azerbaijan’s win in the 2020 war with Armenia. Aliyev and First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva greeted Erdogan and his wife, Emine, at Fuzuli International Airport with an honor guard.
The program included an official welcoming ceremony and a one-on-one meeting between the two leaders in Shusha. Erdogan also laid a wreath at the Victory Monument in Khankendi, visited the Khojaly Genocide Memorial, met decorated servicemen and attended a banquet hosted by Aliyev. Reports on the visit did not detail any agreements reached.
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