King Charles III is to make an opening speech at the Cop28 climate summit in Dubai, Buckingham Palace announced on Wednesday.
The monarch will address world leaders at the opening ceremony on December 1.
After his speech, he will “take the opportunity to have meetings with regional leaders”, a Buckingham Palace spokeswoman said.
The king, who is widely known for his environmental activism, was invited to Cop28 by President Sheikh Mohamed.
It is understood King Charles could raise issues concerning the conflict in Gaza and Israel.
But his main focus will be on climate as for the past five decades the king has “championed action for a sustainable future”, according to a royal source.
“His majesty believes that everyone has a role to play in tackling even the most complex environmental challenges facing our world,” the source said.
“The king’s unique ability to bring people together has proved a powerful way to find solutions and inspire people and organisations at all levels and all around the world.”
It is understood he will attend the reception to launch the inaugural Cop 28 Business and Philanthropy Climate Forum.
The forum is a strategic partner with King Charles’ Sustainable Markets Initiative, which he founded when he was the Prince of Wales in 2020 as a coalition to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future for nature, people and the planet.
As Prince he previously delivered the opening address at Cop26 in Glasgow in 2021 and Cop21 in Paris in 2015. He missed Cop27 last year due to an agreement made while Liz Truss was prime minister, despite it being widely reported the monarch had hoped to attend in person.
He first visited the UAE in 1989 with his wife at the time, Diana, Princess of Wales, and was welcomed by UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
The six-day trip, which included a stop in Kuwait, was intended to boost trade, and the royal couple enjoyed Emirati hospitality in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
British royal visits to the UAE - in pictures
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Britain's Queen Elizabeth ll and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, entertain Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, on board the Royal Yacht Britannia during a state visit to the Gulf in February 1979. Getty -
The Queen is presented with gifts, including a solid gold sculpture of a camel and its calf from Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed, Ruler of Dubai, during her Gulf visit in February 1979. Getty -
The Queen and her husband enjoy a tour of Abu Dhabi in February 1979. Getty -
Diana, Princess of Wales, watches camel racing in Dubai in March 1989, during a tour of the Gulf states with her husband, the heir to the British throne Prince Charles. Getty -
The princess chats with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid at a reception at the British Consulate in Dubai during the 1989 visit. The Vice President and Ruler of Dubai was then the emirate's Crown Prince. Getty -
The Prince and Princess of Wales at a camel race near Al Ain during the March 1989 visit. Getty -
The Prince And Princess Of Wales enjoy a desert picnic in Abu Dhabi. Getty -
Britain's Prince Edward speaks with Emirates airline founder Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum during a visit to Dubai in March 1997. Reuters -
Prince Charles waves from the cockpit of a Eurofighter jet at the Dubai Air Show in November 1999. AFP -
Prince Charles meets Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid in Dubai in 1999, when the Ruler was Crown Prince of Dubai. Wam -
Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, pay their respects at the tomb of Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, at the Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Abu Dhabi in February 2007. Reuters -
Prince Charles admires the mosque's ornate pillars. Reuters -
Prince Charles meets students of the British School in Abu Dhabi in February 2007. Wam -
The Duchess of Cornwall talks to Emirati women in Dubai's historical district of Bastakiah in February 2007. AFP -
President Sheikh Khalifa and Prince Charles meet in Abu Dhabi in February 2007. Wam -
Britain's Prince Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho, left, at a dinner in Dubai in October 2013 to raise money for their Sentable charity for vulnerable children in the southern African kingdom. AFP -
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, welcomes Prince Charles to the UAE in November 2016. Wam -
Prince Charles visits Bu Tinah island in the waters of Abu Dhabi during his 2016 visit. Getty -
Prince Charles with Reem Al Hashimy, Minister of State for International Co-operation, in the offices of Expo 2020 Dubai in November 2016. Getty -
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, receives Prince Charles in Abu Dhabi in February 2014. Wam -
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, meets Prince Charles in February 2014. Wam
The pair attended an official reception at the British embassy in Abu Dhabi, and another at the British consulate in Dubai, where they met Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, who at the time was Minister of Defence.
As Prince Charles, he visited the UAE again in 1999, 2007, 2014 and 2016. During his most recent trip, he and Camilla, then the Duchess of Cornwall, were treated to a tour of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, accompanied by Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, who was then Minister of State for Tolerance.
