During the ongoing 23rd Conference of Parties (COP) in Bonn, Germany, Syria on November 7, 2017 announced that it is preparing to join the Paris climate accord. This was stated by Syrian Deputy Environment Minister Wadah Katmawi. The Paris Climate Accord was signed during COP-21 on 12 December 2015 and until October 2017 Syria and Nicaragua were the only non-signatory nations. Nicaragua signed in October 2017.