“President (Isaac) Herzog will be representing Israel at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh,” the premier’s office said.

Lapid had been scheduled to fly to the Red Sea resort on Monday to attend the global climate summit.

More than 90 heads of state and government, including US President Joe Biden, are set to converge on the resort between November 6 and 18.

Lapid’s replacement by Israel’s head of state, whose role is largely ceremonial, comes as voters await the final results of Tuesday’s election.

Initial results put Lapid’s centrist Yesh Atid party behind former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud, according to the Central Elections Committee.

Last month Lapid said the “climate crisis presents us with exceptional opportunities” for the Israeli economy.

His predecessor Naftali Bennett met Egyptian president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Sharm el-Sheikh last year.

Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace deal with Israel in 1979.