Ethiopian envoy leads cleaning drive at Trail 5

Campaign aims to purge Margallas of trash, posing threat to wildlife

ISLAMABAD:

Special Envoy and Ambassador of Ethiopia to Pakistan, Dr Jemal Beker, on Saturday, spearheaded a cleaning drive at Trail 5 in Islamabad to purge the Margalla Hills of trash that posed a serious threat to the wildlife in the National Park.

The drive, jointly organised by the Ethiopian Embassy Islamabad, GhoomLay and Studio One, was launched as a part of the Ethio-Pakistan Fraternity under the Green Legacy Initiative of the Prime Minister of Ethiopia H.E. Dr Abiy Ahmed.

People from all walks of life, including government officials, the diplomatic community, civil society, youth and media participated in the cleaning drive aimed at fostering the Ethio-Pakistan fraternity by pursuing joint efforts for a better future for both countries.

Talking to the media, Dr Beker said today's gathering was meant to send a message that mass mobilisation of human and financial resources was a solution to resolve the contemporary and new normal challenges such as climate change.

He said: "Ethiopia built a green economy by planting more than 40.5 billion seedlings of fruits, vegetables and fodder in the last five years that has created jobs and ensured food security in Ethiopia. The record-breaking plantation was undertaken under the Green Legacy Initiative which is inspired by the Medemer philosophy of our prime minister who advocates for mass mobilisation and alignment of the resources".

"We have launched this Green Legacy Initiative in Pakistan as I went to all the cities of Pakistan and mobilising all segments of the society to mitigate the serious threat of climate change," he said, urging the youth to be at the forefront of such an important cause.

He expressed his gratitude to the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board, GhoomLay, and Studio One for partnering with the Ethiopian Embassy Islamabad on such a humanitarian and kind initiative.

The ambassador also lauded the government of Pakistan's commitment to working with Ethiopia to enhance bilateral regional and multilateral cooperation between the two countries in various areas such as economy, education, health, climate change, culture and technology transfer.

Chief Executive Officer of GhoomLay (Pvt) Limited Muhammad Haris thanked the Ethiopian Embassy Islamabad for partnering with his organisation and others to clean the Trail 5 Margalla Hills. He reiterated his commitment to take the needful initiatives for protecting the environment in the federal capital and other cities.