Pakistan asks for financial assistance at UN meeting
2023.01.08 04:39
Pakistan asks for financial assistance at UN meeting
Budrigannews.com – In what is anticipated to be a major test case for who pays for climate disasters, Pakistan and the United Nations are holding a major conference on Monday in Geneva. The goal of the conference is to gather support for rebuilding Pakistan after devastating floods.
In a disaster that was attributed to climate change, record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in September displaced approximately 8 million people and killed at least 1,700.
The majority of the floodwaters have now receded, but the $16.3 billion reconstruction project to rebuild millions of homes and thousands of kilometers of roads and railways is just getting started, and millions more individuals may fall into poverty.
At the conference, where United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and French President Emmanuel Macron are also scheduled to speak, Islamabad’s delegation, led by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, will present a recovery “framework.”
In a previous visit to Pakistan in September, Guterres referred to the devastation as “climate carnage.”
Knut Ostby, Pakistan Representative for the United Nations Development Program, stated, “This is a pivotal moment for the global community to stand with Pakistan and to commit to a resilient and inclusive recovery from these devastating floods.”
Pakistan needs more money because there are growing worries about whether or not it can pay for food and energy imports and fulfill its obligations to pay off its sovereign debt.
However, it is difficult to predict where the funds for reconstruction will come from, particularly in light of the difficulties in raising funds for the emergency humanitarian phase of the response, which is only about half funded, according to U.N. data.
Pakistan was at the forefront of efforts that resulted in the establishment of a “loss and damage” fund to cover climate-related destruction for nations that have contributed less to global warming than wealthy nations during the November COP27 meeting in Egypt.
Pakistan, however, whose economy is worth $350 billion, is not yet known to be eligible for that future funding.
According to the event’s organizers, approximately 250 individuals, including private donors, high-ranking government officials, and international financial institutions, are anticipated to attend.
Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, stated, “Islamabad is willing to pay for about half of the bill, but hopes donors will support the remainder.” He stated, “We will be mobilizing international support through a variety of means.” We are eager to collaborate with our partners.”
A spokesperson for the lender said on Sunday that a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will meet Pakistan’s finance minister on the sidelines of the conference. This comes as Pakistan struggles to restart its bailout program.
Pakistan currently has only enough foreign exchange reserves to cover one month’s worth of imports because the IMF has yet to approve the release of $1.1 billion, which was originally scheduled to be distributed in November of last year.
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