International Donors Raise Funds For Pakistan
Amid the catastrophic floods of Pakistan, the international donors has pledged to provide $9 Billion (estimated Rs 7,34,90,04,00,000.00) to help the country to recover said the UN secretary general Antonio Guterres. He described the situation as a “monsoon on steroids.”
The pledges were made at the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan n Geneva, Switzerland, hosted by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and Guterres. The $9 Billion deal has been pledged from bilateral and multilateral partners.
International Donors At The Conference
Officials from 40 countries as well as private donors and international financial institutions gathered at a meeting in Geneva as Islamabad sought funds to cover around half of a recovery bill amounting to $16.3 billion.
Among the donors were the Islamic Development Bank ($4.2 Billion), the World Bank ($2 Billion), Saudi Arabia ($1 Billion), as well as the European Union and China, Pakistan Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said. France and the United States also made contributions.
“Today has truly been a day which gives us great hope,” said Hina Rabbani Khar, Pakistan’s minister of state for foreign affairs. “I think the message from the world is clear: the world will stand by those who go through any national calamity.”
The United Nations Development Programme Administrator, Achim Steiner characterized the outcome of the conference- the pledged exceeded Pakistani’s goal as “quite unusual.” He said that the donors pledges often fell short of objectives.
Waters are still receding from the floods caused by monsoon rains and melting glaciers that killed at least 1,700 people, displaced around 8 million and destroyed key infrastructure.
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres Stance On Pak Floods
U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for massive investments to help Pakistan recover from what he called a “climate disaster of monumental scale”.
“Pakistan is doubly victimized by climate chaos and a morally bankrupt global financial system,” he added. He later elaborated saying the current system was “biased” towards the rich countries who conceived it.
Additional funding is crucial to Pakistan amid growing concerns about its ability to pay for imports such as energy and food and to meet sovereign debt obligations abroad, he further said.
Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif Statements
Pakistan was committed to the IMF programme but that he was asking the IMF for “breathing space” to meet its commitments, without elaborating, said PM Shehbaz.
“I am asking for a new lifeline for people who need to power our economy and re-enter the 21st century with a future that is protected from such extreme risks to human security,” he said.
PM said that Pakistan needs a minimum of $16.3 Billion over the next three years to begin recovery and reconstruction, half of which will be met by domestic resources.
