ISLAMABAD, June 25: Minister of State for Environment Tahir Iqbal on Wednesday said by 2010 the country would be free from the Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS), said an official statement.

This was observed in a meeting between the minister and the implementing agencies of the Montreal Protocol - the World Bank, UNIDO and UNEP here.

These international agencies are providing technical and financial assistance to the environment ministry to phase out the ODS and implement other provisions of the protocol.

At present, the statement said, 27 projects have been approved for grant funding at the total cost of $12.61 million. Out of these, 10 projects have been completed at the total cost of $3.57 million.

The mission, comprising representatives of these agencies, is currently visiting Pakistan to discuss the country’s needs that it can provide. The mission is holding meetings with the minister, secretary of environment and other stakeholders such as ministries of commerce, and customs.

In a separate meeting with the World Bank officials, Mr Iqbal was quoted as saying that Pakistan was committed to taking initiatives in this regard and would soon ratify all the amendments made in the original Montreal Protocol for the preservation of environment.

The minister said the government aimed at providing clean air and drinking water to the next generation and in this regard new customs codes and import policies would be developed to check the import of harmful ODS and pesticides.

He maintained that financial and technical support from the World Bank and other agencies was needed to phase out the ODS. Besides these measures, he said, imports from the developed countries should also be restricted so that no ODS-using equipment were imported in the country.