It will be the monarch’s first official visit as king…

British King Charles III is coming to Dubai this week, in what will be his first official visit to the UAE since becoming king. King Charles will speak at the opening ceremony of COP28 on December 1, providing a welcome address to world leaders.

The British monarch was invited to the world climate action summit by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, reports The National.

As per a Buckingham Palace statement carried by Reuters, King Charles will also attend a reception to launch the inaugural COP28 Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum which is running alongside the event. “While in the UAE, the king will take the opportunity to have meetings with regional leaders, ahead of COP28,” the statement added.

This will be the third time that the British sovereign, who is known for his passion for addressing climate change, has attended COP28. Previously in his capacity as Prince, he delivered an opening speech at Glasgow’s COP26 and at Paris’ COP21.

King Charles has been a regular visitor to the UAE over the decades, coming to the emirates on his first official visit in 1989. He previously visited in 2007, and then again in 2016 when he came on a royal tour with Camilla, Queen Consort.

What is COP28?

This year marks the 28th annual COP, which stands for Conference of the Parties (COP), summit. The event will be hosted at Expo City Dubai from Thursday, November 30 until Tuesday, December 12. The annual summit is where world leaders gather to work together on solutions that tackle the most pressing climate change issues.

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