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The big names Who's who at this year's gathering
The Guardian
|November 09, 2024
Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijan president The autocratic leader has used Azerbaijan's oil wealth to gain global influence for his country and enrich his family.
Azerbaijan is rated as one of the world's most corrupt regimes, with a poor record on human rights. Aliyev is likely to shrug off such criticism and focus instead on his plans to generate and export renewable energy and attempts to clean the Caspian Sea.
Mukhtar Babayev Cop29 president-designate Azerbaijan's minister for ecology and natural resources, Babayev has a background in the oil industry and is competent and well regarded.
This year is the turn of the postSoviet bloc to host Cop. Romania, Bulgaria and Poland all expressed an interest but were vetoed by President Vladimir Putin, angered by the EU's response to Russia invading Ukraine. He eventually agreed to let Azerbaijan host.
This story is from the November 09, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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