ISLAMABAD: National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on Tuesday said the Geneva Conference was indicative of international resolve to tackle global climate change.

His comments came as the Speaker congratulated Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Secretary General United Nations for “resounding success” of the “International Conference on Resilient Pakistan”.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday reached Geneva along with a high-level delegation to co-chair an international conference on ‘Climate Resilient Pakistan’ along with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

In the conference, Pakistan was to outline the framework vision for rehabilitation and reconstruction and emphasise upon the need for global support and long-term partnership to implement it.

The catastrophic floods from the previous monsoon impacted 33 million people.

At the conference, Pakistan presented the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (4RF), comprising plans and arrangements for the post-floods’ recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction and forging long-term partnerships for building Pakistan’s climate resilience and adaptation.

Mr Ashraf expressed gratitude to the European Union (EU), USAID, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), World Bank (WB), China, Saudi Arabia, Germany, Japan, France , Azerbaijan and other friendly countries for their generous support of more than $9 billion to rebuild the lives of the flood-affected people.

He also appreciated the efforts of PM Shehbaz Sharif and FM Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for successfully seeking the world’s attention to the massive loss and damage caused by recent floods in Pakistan.

He said the successful Geneva conference was indicative of collaborative spirit of international community to tackle global climate.

The Speaker said that parliament of Pakistan had been at the forefront to fight the case of climate justice for Pakistan.

He said successful Geneva conference would prove a significant support for Pakistan in its effort to rehabilitate the flood affected people.

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2023