ISLAMABAD (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said over $9 billion in pledges made by the countries and development partners showed their confidence in Pakistan’s coalition government.
“As a Team Pakistan, this success is an achievement for the coalition government and the nation,” the prime minister said in a statement as he co-hosted a day-long conference on the reconstruction and rehabilitation in the wake of the country’s summer floods in Geneva on Monday. Shehbaz Sharif lauded the contribution of all concerned ministries and departments in making Geneva’s Resilient Pakistan Conference a success.
He acknowledged the role played by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq and Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb. He assured that as a trust, the financial assistance would be provided to the deserving through a third-party audit.
Shehbaz Sharif mentioned the special financial support extended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman besides the pledges of the conference. He also highlighted the support of the leadership of China, Turkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, the European Union, the United States, Germany, Japan, France, and other countries to help Pakistan overcome the post-flood challenges.
He lauded the support of the Islamic Development Bank, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, United States Agency for International Development, Department for International Development, and other aid agencies. The prime minister earlier in a tweet said the climate crisis had severely threatened nations’ capacity to achieve Sustainable Development Goals as a return to business-as-usual was out of the question. “World needs to employ vision and solidarity for transition to a sustainable future of hope. The darkness of disasters should be replaced by the light of opportunity,” he said.
He mentioned that in his address at Resilient Pakistan Conference, he outlined the recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction requirements of the country over medium to long terms. “I explained how flood ravages have caused learning, health, and infrastructure losses. I alerted the world to spectre of food insecurity,” he said.
Shehbaz thanks countries, UN for making Resilient Pakistan conference a ‘resounding success’: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday expressed gratitude to the countries and the aid agencies for making the conference on Pakistan’s post-flood challenges a success. “A big thank you to Heads of states and governments, European Union, our development partners and United Nations for making Resilient Pakistan Conference a resounding success,” he said in a tweet.
He mentioned the active role of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in highlighting the plight of Pakistan’s flood-hit population. “The UN Secretary General has shown stellar leadership all along. People of Pakistan will forever remain grateful,” he said.
Shehbaz Sharif said the world witnessed yesterday how the nations can come together in a show of solidarity to create a model of win-win partnership to lift suffering humanity out of tragedy.”I was deeply moved by the compassion on display at Geneva Conference. Together we will rebuild lives and hopes,” he said. Pakistan on Monday secured over $10 billion pledges from the international financial institutions, donor agencies and development partners for the rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction of flood affected areas, during an International Conference on Climate Resilience.
The major pledges made at the conference, co-chaired by Pakistan and the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, included $4.2 billion from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), $2 billion from the World Bank, $1.5 billion from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), $1 billion from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and $1 billion from Saudi Arabia. Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif led the Pakistan delegation at Geneva moot where he described in detail Pakistan’s Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework (4RF), which laid out a multi-sectoral strategy for rehabilitation and reconstruction in a climate-resilient and inclusive manner.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal, Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Marriyum Aurangzeb were part of the prime minister’s delegation.
PM: Over $9b pledges show world’s trust
