Over $9b pledges show world’s trust in Pakistan’s ruling coalition: PM

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said the pledges of over $9 billion made by countries and development partners showed their confidence in Pakistan’s coalition government.

"This success is an achievement for the coalition government and the nation,” he said in a statement as he co-hosted a day-long conference on reconstruction and rehabilitation in the wake of the country’s summer floods in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday.

The prime minister 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, Minister for Economic Affairs 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.

Read IDB, US, France pledge aid to Pakistan at Geneva

Further, PM Shehbaz mentioned the special financial support extended by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman in addition to the pledges of the conference.

He also highlighted the support of leaderships 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, the United States Agency for International Development, the Department for International Development, and other aid agencies.

The premier 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.

“The world needs to employ vision and solidarity to 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 the Resilient Pakistan Conference, he outlined the recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction needs of the country in the medium to long term.

“I explained how flood ravages have caused learning, health, and infrastructure losses. I alerted the world to [the] spectre of food insecurity,” he said.

Geneva moot's ‘resounding success’

Shehbaz expressed gratitude to countries and aid agencies for making the international conference in Geneva, Switzerland, on Pakistan’s post-flood challenges a "success".

“A big thank you to heads of states and governments, the European Union (EU), our development partners and the United Nations (UN) for making Resilient Pakistan Conference a resounding success,” he said in a tweet.

Shehbaz mentioned the active role of United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres in highlighting the plight of the country’s flood-hit population.

“The UN Secretary-General has shown stellar leadership all along. The people of Pakistan will forever remain grateful,” he said.

Read more Flood spending may cross $3b, says Ahsan

The premier furthered that the world has witnessed how nations can come together in a show of solidarity to create a model of a "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 added.

Pakistan secured pledges from international financial institutions, donor agencies and development partners for the rehabilitation, recovery and reconstruction of flood-affected areas, at the conferemce.

The major pledges made 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.

At the moot, PM Shehbaz 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.