On September 26, 2024, during the 79th session of the UN General Assembly and New York Climate Week, a bilateral meeting took place between COP29 President-Designate and Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Republuc of Azerbaijan Mukhtar Babayev and Secretary-General of the United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan.

During the meeting, discussions focused on the Baku Initiative on Climate Finance, Investment, and Trade (BICFIT), a pivotal initiative of COP29 Presidency. UNCTAD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), represented in the Global Taskforce established by the UN for COP29, both play key coordinating roles for this initiative, at the same time, the COP29 Presidency is actively collaborating with partners such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the International Trade Centre (ITC), and various other international organisations and multilateral development banks within the framework of this initiative.

Mukhtar Babayev highlighted that the Presidency will host the first ever thematic day dedicated to climate finance, investment, and trade within the framework of COP29. He additionally mentioned that the Trade and Investment House will also be organised by the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO) of the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in cooperation with partners like the WTO, UNCTAD, ITC and the International Chamber of Commerce.

The COP29 Presidency underlined the significance of the newly proposed and innovative BICFIT initiative, emphasising its aim to create the nexus of climate finance, investment, trade, and sustainable development, thereby fostering global synergy.

Mukhtar Babayev stated that the COP29 Presidency has been engaging in extensive consultations with all the relevant stakeholders, and on 13 September 2024, a special session on the BICFIT initiative was held within the framework of the WTO Global Public Forum in Geneva, with participation from different countries and stakeholders.

Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, expressed her gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan for organising the first thematic day focusing on finance, investment, and trade nexus and organization of the Trade and Investment House at the COP29. Grynspan highlighted the BICFIT initiative’s potential to strengthen the nexus of climate finance, investment, trade, and development, and welcomed the COP29 Presidency’s suggestion to integrate BICFIT dialogue into UNCTAD’s World Investment Forum.

At the end of the meeting, a letter of intent was signed between the two parties, marking a commitment to advancing the BICFIT initiative in collaboration with other key partners.