UN Secy General urges debt relief to Pakistan

SHARM EL-SHEIKH (APP): UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Monday appealed to the international financial institutions and G 20 countries to provide debt relief to Pakistan to help its post flood reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts.
Addressing a joint press conference along with Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif here, the UN Secretary General proposed a debt swap, exchanging the payment of debt with investment in rehabilitation of the flood affected people of Pakistan.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif who is in Sharm El Sheikh for the COP27 summit, told media that according to the latest estimates, Pakistan suffered losses of over $ 30 billion. The UN Secretary General said that Pakistan was a middle income country and was not given the kind of debt relief and concessional funding it needed to tackle the adverse impact of climate change.
He appealed to the international financial institutions and the G 20 countries to create a mechanism for debt relief for middle income countries including Pakistan. He underlined the need for defining a clear road map to deal with the disaster, by creating an institutional framework of financing.
Antonio Guterres said an international donor conference will be held for Pakistan, as the country needed massive support for rehabilitation of the people affected by floods. The prime minister said the damages suffered in floods was also combined with a surge in poverty rates, with over 9 million of our people being pushed into a life of extreme poverty, with an additional 1.9 million families being pushed into multidimensional poverty. He said the impact on the GDP will be 2.2 % just from the flooding, but extreme climate events such as heatwaves, forest fires, and rapidly melting glaciers had already created a 9.1 percent drag on Pakistan’s GDP annually.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif became the centre of attention at the platform of the Conference of Parties (COP27) as he robustly campaigned for the world’s action to address Pakistan’s climate change challenges. The heads of State and governments in their interaction with Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the mega climate change summit, termed his passion as “extraordinary”, featuring efforts for urgent steps to save the country from the natural disaster, according to the PM Office.
The prime minister in his meetings with Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmon, Indonesian Vice President Maroof Amin, Iraq’s President Abdul Latif Rashid, and Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati drew the attention of the international community to help Pakistan overcome the risks of climate change. He highlighted the damage suffered by Pakistan in the wake of recent flash floods and emphasized transforming the key climate-related decisions into concrete actions and credible plans.
Shehbaz Sharif stressed that as a developing country most affected by the phenomenon, Pakistan needed urgency of climate solidarity and climate justice. The prime minister thanked the international community for helping the flood-struck people in Pakistan.The COP-27 is taking place at a time when millions of people in Pakistan, and millions more in other parts of the world, are facing severe adverse impacts of climate change.
Disastrous effects of climate change necessitate global coalition: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday said that it was a must to form a coalition of all the countries to deal with the disastrous impacts of climate change as the world had done to overcome the scourge of terrorism.
The prime minister, in a meeting with the President of the European Council Charles Michel on the sidelines COP27 summit here, thanked the EU president for extending cooperation for Pakistan’s exclusion from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s grey list. Charles Michel expressed grief over the loss of life caused by the floods across Pakistan and also appreciated the EU’s support for the relief of flood-stricken people.
The prime minister said that Pakistan desired multifaceted cooperation with the European Union as the bilateral partnership had been a key source to serving the common interests. He said Pakistan looked forward to further enhancing mutual trust and cooperation between Pakistan and the European Union. He also appreciated the EU’s efforts to deal with the impacts of climate change. Both the leaders also agreed to keep up close coordination on matters of mutual interest.
PM urges int’l community to create a common charter for planet’s survival: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday said that the international community must come together to create a common charter for the survival of the planet.
The prime minister, in a meeting with the President of the United Arab Emirates Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on the sidelines of the COP 27 Summit here, welcomed the commitment of the international community, especially the Islamic world, to the goals and objectives of the COP 27 conference. The prime minister thanked the UAE leadership and people for their generous assistance to the flood victims in Pakistan.
He termed the commitment of COP 27 as a good omen to combat the effects of climate change. Dealing with the effects of climate change was not for developing countries alone, he added. During the interaction, the two leaders agreed to work together for common goals of mutual interest.
PM, Arab League Secy Gen agree on cooperation against climate change disasters: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Secretary-General of the Arab League met here on the sidelines of COP-27 High-Level Segments and agreed on strong cooperation to prevent the devastating effects of climate change. The prime Minister and the Secretary-General of the Arab League also discussed issues of bilateral and mutual interest, the PM Office said. Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the Arab League Charter and Secretary General’s determination to achieve its goals.
PM joins world leaders as ‘Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit’ kicks off: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday joined world leaders at the ‘Sharm El-Sheikh Climate Implementation Summit’ in a bid to deliberate upon the ways to address the global environmental challenges.
At the Sharm El-Sheikh International Convention Center, the prime minister was received by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The government of Egypt is hosting the 27th session of the Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC (COP 27), with a view to effectively tackling the global challenge of climate change.
Pakistan’s invitation to the summit along with other countries signifies the importance to implement and transform key climate-related decisions into concrete actions and credible plans. At the invitation of the Egyptian Presidency of COP-27, the prime minister will also co-chair, along with his Norwegian counterpart, a high-level roundtable discussion on ‘Climate Change and the sustainability of vulnerable communities.
COP-27 is taking place at a time when millions of people in Pakistan, and millions more in other parts of the world, are facing severe adverse impacts of climate change. As a developing country most affected by this phenomenon, Pakistan will make a robust call, inter alia, for the urgency of climate solidarity and climate justice based on the established principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.