PM Kakar to address UNGA on 22nd

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar will address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York on September 22, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch confirmed at her weekly press briefing on Thursday.

Baloch said that Prime Minister Kakar would participate in the high-level debate of the 78th UNGA session from September 18 to 23. She added that Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani would also accompany the caretaker prime minister.

“The prime minister will address the UN General Assembly on September 22, 2023,” she said. He would outline Pakistan's perspective on a range of regional and global issues of concern, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, which was among the longest standing unresolved items on the UN agenda.

The spokesperson stated that the prime minister would elaborate on the significant measures being taken by the caretaker government to consolidate Pakistan's economic recovery and efforts to mobilise domestic and external investment.

According to the Foreign Office spokesperson, Kakar would also participate in the summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and other high-level meetings organised under the auspice of the General Assembly.

These would afford valuable platforms to deliberate on effective measures required at the global level for addressing the most pressing economic and development challenges confronting the global south in the wake of the Covid pandemic, geo-political contestations and climate change.

On the sidelines of the UNGA session, Kakar would hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries as well as with the heads of international organisations, philanthropic organisations and corporate leaders.

The prime minister would also avail the opportunity to engage with other heads of state and government at the UNGA during the various activities organised on the sidelines. He would also hold interactions with the international media.

“Pakistan sees the United Nations as the most representative and inclusive forum of nation-states.

The prime minister's participation in the General Assembly session is a demonstration of Pakistan's abiding commitment to multilateralism, with the UN playing a pivotal role in international affairs for promoting peace and prosperity worldwide,” the spokespersons said.

To a question, the spokesperson said that the new economic corridor linking India, Middle East, and Europe was at an early stage and hence she did not offer any elaborated response.