Key Facts
- What. Turkey’s president met Brazil’s Lula and Saudi Arabia’s energy minister on Tuesday, 10 November 2026; Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement.
- Where. The COP31 UN climate summit, Antalya, Turkey, runs 9–20 November.
- Next. Leaders’ summit on Wednesday, 11 and Thursday, 12 November; Turkey’s Environment Ministry expects 102 leaders.
- US angle. A 19-member US congressional delegation is reported; no US leader is confirmed.
The first big day of diplomacy at the UN climate summit in Antalya belonged to its host, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He held a string of one-on-one talks on Tuesday, 10 November 2026, a day before world leaders formally open the COP31 climate summit in Antalya.
COP31 is the 31st annual UN climate conference, a two-week negotiation among nearly 200 countries. Erdogan’s guests included Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali.
Who Erdogan Met and What Was Said
Erdogan also met Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, chairman of Turkmenistan’s People’s Council. Earlier he had met UN Secretary-General António Guterres, according to Turkish officials.
Turkey and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement during the Saudi meeting, with Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar signing for Ankara. The text of the agreement was not described.
Erdogan told Lula that the two countries mark 100 years of diplomatic relations in 2027 and want to expand ties, particularly in trade and the defence industry. He told Rahman that Ankara keeps the plight of about 1 million Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in the international spotlight.
With Abiy, he discussed trade, investment and regional issues. He also congratulated Ethiopia on preparing to host COP32 next year.
Why the Leaders’ Summit Matters
The Leaders’ Summit, the political centrepiece of COP31, runs on Wednesday, 11 November, and Thursday, 12 November, according to UN Climate Change, the UN’s climate secretariat. The first day is themed Zero Waste, a Turkish government initiative on recycling and waste.
Turkey’s Environment Ministry expects 102 leaders from 95 countries and seven international organisations, including 37 heads of state and 35 heads of government. That is an expectation, not a confirmed count, and our earlier reports cited 91 leaders.
The conference closes on Friday, 20 November. Murat Kurum, Turkey’s environment minister, is COP31 President, while Australia’s Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen leads the negotiations under a co-presidency agreed at COP30.
Simon Stiell, executive secretary of UN Climate Change, told the opening on 9 November that progress is “nowhere near far enough or fair enough.” He also said no COP is a silver bullet.
What It Means for US Readers
No US leader or official US delegation has been confirmed. A 19-member delegation of US lawmakers, organised by the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition Institute, a nonprofit tied to a House caucus, is reported to be attending.
Democratic Representative Sean Casten of Illinois said the delegation would serve an important diplomatic function. Antalya keeps Turkish time, eight hours ahead of US Eastern Time, so summit sessions fall in the early hours or morning in the US; the programme is on cop31.tr, the official host site.
What Is Not Known
The content of the Turkey-Saudi agreement has not been described. Session start times and a livestream link for the Leaders’ Summit were not confirmed.
The scope of Bowen’s planned presidency decision is not settled, and developing countries are pressing for faster access to climate finance. No poll or prediction-market odds on COP31 outcomes were found.
Sources
Turkish Presidency and Environment Ministry statements; UN Climate Change (unfccc.int); cop31.tr; The Rio Times COP31 hub.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated AI newsroom. Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. The Rio Times also runs Ask Rio Times, which answers from 100,000+ of our own articles, the daily Latin America Power Map, and prediction-market odds on elections and markets.. How we use AI · Report an error
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Frequently Asked Questions
Who did Erdogan meet at COP31 on 10 November?
He met Brazil’s President Lula, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Tarique Rahman and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali. He also met Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and Turkmenistan’s Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
When is the COP31 Leaders’ Summit?
It is scheduled for Wednesday, 11 November, and Thursday, 12 November 2026, in Antalya. Session times were not confirmed.
How many leaders are expected in Antalya?
Turkey’s Environment Ministry expects 102 leaders from 95 countries and seven international organisations. That is an expected figure, not a confirmed count.