COP 21: ‘Paris conference to be a moment of solidarity’

French ambassador thanks Pakistan for messages of sympathy and support.

ISLAMABAD: France’s Ambassador Martine Dorance on Friday said that despite the Paris attacks they will go ahead and host the Paris Climate Conference, the COP 21, the biggest diplomatic event ever hosted in the country.

“We want France to remain itself, we must continue to work, to go out, to live, and that is why the Paris Climate Conference will not only go ahead but will be a moment of hope and solidarity,” she said while addressing a reception ‘On the Road to Paris Climate Conference’.



“In just 11 days, world leaders will have a historic opportunity to negotiate a lasting, binding agreement, one which is differentiated so that we can all live and so that our children and grandchildren can continue to have the planet they will inherit,” she said, adding that France has facilitated an ambitious compromise between 195 countries.

She said the reception was scheduled for a few weeks but was overshadowed by the tragedy which occurred in Paris last Friday. As many as 129 people were killed and more than 350 are injured, mostly young people in a series of attacks in Paris. “Our thoughts, our sympathy are with them, with their families. Among the victims were several dozen of our foreign friends, representing 19 nationalities,” she said.

“During this difficult time I have been deeply touched by the messages of sympathy and support we have received here in Pakistan. We want to thank you for your compassion,” the French ambassador said.

Pakistan has suffered a lot from terrorism, like other countries and our thoughts are with all the victims of terrorism in France, in Pakistan, in Russia, in Lebanon, in Mali, in so many other places, Dorance added.

She also thanked for all the help in the preparation of COP 21 they received from Pakistan. “As a moment of hope, COP 21 in Paris will tell how the whole world stands in solidarity, and how the whole world also needs to mobilise its efforts to combat climate change, as it needs to unite to combat terrorism,” Dorance said.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 21^th, 2015.