What are Rishi Sunak's instincts as a world leader?

Rishi Sunak said climate security goes hand in hand with energy security

Beneath the garishly illuminated palm trees and totally clear skies of this Red Sea resort, there is a multilingual, multinational babble.

In the corridors, under the parasols, in the meeting rooms, at the exhibition stands: climate, diplomacy, fairness, funding and timetables for action are all being discussed.

There are Conference of the Parties (COP) veterans and novices among the delegations - and there are long established leaders and newbies.

Newbies like Rishi Sunak; this summit providing the forum for his first set of in person talks with fellow prime ministers and presidents.

He seeks to restore an impression of reliability and stability after the turbulence in British politics throughout much of this year.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron spoke at COP27 in Egypt

Yet, one of his acts was to add to the very unpredictability he is attempting to be the antidote to.

It means a certain Boris Johnson, the prime minister before last, confirmed he was coming here before Mr Sunak did.

Mr Sunak was compelled to publicly welcome the attendance of the man whose government he had resigned from.

The prime minister regrets giving the impression he did not want to come here.

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Here's why it happened, I'm told: in his first days in Downing Street he was reluctant to immediately guarantee he would make it to avoid subsequently having to give back word and cancel if domestic economic troubles prevailed.

He ended up performing the opposite about turn; perhaps only marginally less awkward.

His team concluded that jump starting the UK's reputation made attendance here near obligatory; for its own sake given the primacy of climate in international relations - and building his own personal relationships at their heart.

There'll be more opportunity for this at the G20 Summit in Indonesia next week.

He now leaves the climate negotiations to others.

That's not atypical - national leaders come and go from this gathering, which lasts, in total, for a fortnight.

As the prime minister leaves, the chancellor of Germany arrives. Then later in the week, US President Joe Biden drops in.

Back home, attention remains focused on the Autumn Statement, the budget, coming up a week on Thursday.

Some here have an eye on it too: is there any backsliding on previous promises to help poorer countries develop more cleanly?

The prime minister was asked repeatedly about this today. His answer wasn't entirely clear.

As chancellor during the pandemic, we got a sense of Rishi Sunak's priorities.

But, now he is on the world stage as a leader, we wait to see what his instincts are as prime minister, particularly in foreign affairs.

The challenge here in Egypt: fulfilling expensive promises at a time of budget squeezes at home.

The COP27 global climate summit in Egypt is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. More than 200 countries are attending the summit to discuss further measures to cut emissions and prepare for climate change, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

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