India and Egypt have decided to form a 'joint working group' for "cooperation in environment and climate change". "The joint working group will discuss and finalise the areas of cooperation in the fields of climate change, urban waste management, hazardous waste management, environmental education and all other facets of environmental governance in the two countries," environment minister Prakash Javadekar said. "The group will consist of concerned officers of India and Egypt, and the first meeting will be held in the near future in India," he said at a press meet in the presence of Indian Ambassador to Egypt Navdeep Suri at the Indian Embassy at Cairo.

"India's stand on climate change is mostly the same as the African Union and India will stand by the African countries. The developed world must take action immediately as time is short and the world must act fast. If we want Paris convention to succeed, we need to sort out issues in time," he said. "India will always echo African aspiration and partner in fighting the challenge of climate change," he added.

Javadekar has held meetings with his counterparts from Ghana, Somalia, Ethiopia, Mali, Tanzania, Angola, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He also met with the executive director of United Nations Environment Programme Achim Steiner.

By Premji