French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Qatar on Tuesday for the Soccer World Cup and his “friend” Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi for organizing COP27 in November, at the risk of attracting a new barrage of critics.
“We are finishing a World Cup that is the first in the Arab world and that was held in Qatar and I congratulate them,” he told a regional conference in support of Iraq on the shores of the Dead Sea in Jordan, in Sweimeh.
“I congratulate my friend President Sissi”
“A few weeks ago a COP was completed which was hosted by Egypt and I congratulate my friend President Sissi because Sharm el-Sheikh has managed to unite the world and resolve part of the issue of loss and damage which was absolutely key,” he said. additional.
COP27 ended with the adoption of a much-discussed text on aid to poor countries affected by climate change, but also on the failure to set new ambitions for the reduction of greenhouse gases.
“And the next COP will be held in the United Arab Emirates, which shows how the region is becoming a diplomatic epicenter,” Emmanuel Macron said.
“I fully assume it”
The French head of state was strongly criticized by the opposition for having traveled to Qatar twice to support the French team and for his praise for the organization of the event, despite the many controversies about human rights in this country and about the environmental impact of the Cup in air-conditioned stadiums.
Qatar is also at the center of an investigation into outright suspicions of corruption in the European Parliament.
“I fully assume it,” launched the French president between the semifinal and the final of the Cup, finally lost by the Blues against the Argentines.
Emmanuel Macron is also regularly criticized by human rights defenders for his ties to the Egyptian president despite the country’s crackdown. Most notably, he awarded her the highest French distinction, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, during a state visit by Abdel Fattah al-Sissi to Paris in December 2020.
Source: BFM TV
