French President Emmanuel Macron has congratulated Qatar on hosting the World Cup and praised his "friend" Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for his organisation of the COP27 Climate Conference, Belga News Agency has reported.
"We are finishing a World Cup which is the first in the Arab world and which was held in Qatar and I congratulate them on it," Macron said on Tuesday at a regional conference in Sweimeh, Jordan.
He added: "A few weeks ago a COP was coming to an end which was organised by Egypt, and I congratulate my friend President Sisi for it because Sharm el-Sheikh managed to bring the world together and settle part of the subject of losses and damages which was absolutely key."
Hosted last month in Sharm el-Sheikh, COP27 concluded with the adoption of a controversial agreement which promised financial aid to poor countries most affected by global warming. The conference was heavily criticised by climate activists for failing to achieve more stringent emission reduction targets.
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Macron has also been vehemently denounced in the French press for his decision to visit Qatar twice over the past week to watch France play in at the World Cup.
In a much-cited special investigation published last year, The Guardian reported that up to 6,500 migrants have died in Qatar since 2011, the year after Qatar was officially announced as host of this year's World Cup. Qatar is also currently under investigation by the Belgian authorities for allegedly bribing EU officials, including current Members of the European Parliament.
Sisi, by contrast, has been condemned by numerous human rights groups since seizing power in a coup against elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Among other things, his regime has been credibly accused of murdering anti-government activists, imprisoning journalists, and torturing political dissidents.
