{"id":2919,"date":"2023-01-08T09:34:26","date_gmt":"2023-01-08T09:34:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=2919"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:50:24","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:50:24","slug":"pakistan-pleads-for-16-billion-in-flood-relief-aid-at-un-conference","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/politics\/pakistan-pleads-for-16-billion-in-flood-relief-aid-at-un-conference\/2023\/01\/08\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Pakistan pleads for $16 billion in flood relief aid at UN conference"},"content":{"rendered":"

GENEVA<\/span> (Reuters) Jan.8<\/span> –<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> are<\/span> scheduled<\/span> to<\/span> hold<\/span> a<\/span> major<\/span> conference<\/span> in<\/span> Geneva<\/span> on<\/span> Monday<\/span> against<\/span> the<\/span> disaster.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Record<\/span> monsoon<\/span> rains<\/span> and<\/span> melting<\/span> glaciers<\/span> last<\/span> September<\/span> displaced<\/span> nearly<\/span> 8<\/span> million<\/span> people<\/span> and<\/span> killed<\/span> at<\/span> least<\/span> 1,700<\/span> in<\/span> disasters<\/span> attributed<\/span> to<\/span> climate<\/span> change.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Most<\/span> water<\/span> bodies<\/span> are<\/span> now<\/span> receding,<\/span> but<\/span> the<\/span> rebuilding<\/span> effort,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> cost<\/span> about<\/span> $16.3<\/span> billion<\/span> to<\/span> rebuild<\/span> millions<\/span> of<\/span> homes<\/span> and<\/span> thousands<\/span> of<\/span> miles<\/span> of<\/span> roads<\/span> and<\/span> railroads,<\/span> has<\/span> only<\/span> just<\/span> begun,<\/span> and<\/span> hundreds<\/span> more.<\/span> Tens<\/span> of<\/span> thousands<\/span> of<\/span> people<\/span> could<\/span> be<\/span> lifted<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> poverty.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Islamabad,<\/span> led<\/span> by<\/span> a<\/span> delegation<\/span> led<\/span> by<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Shebaz<\/span> Sharif,<\/span> will<\/span> present<\/span> a<\/span> “framework”<\/span> for<\/span> reconstruction<\/span> at<\/span> a<\/span> conference<\/span> also<\/span> attended<\/span> by<\/span> UN<\/span> Secretary-General<\/span> Ant\u00f3nio<\/span> Guterres<\/span> and<\/span> French<\/span> President<\/span> Emmanuel<\/span> Macron.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Guterres,<\/span> who<\/span> visited<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> in<\/span> September,<\/span> previously<\/span> described<\/span> the<\/span> country’s<\/span> destruction<\/span> as<\/span> “climate<\/span> carnage.”<\/span> Knut<\/span> Ostby,<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> Development<\/span> Program<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> Representative,<\/span> said:<\/span> “This<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> pivotal<\/span> moment<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> international<\/span> community<\/span> to<\/span> stand<\/span> by<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> and<\/span> engage<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> resilient<\/span> and<\/span> inclusive<\/span> recovery<\/span> from<\/span> these<\/span> devastating<\/span> floods.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>However,<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> not<\/span> at<\/span> all<\/span> clear<\/span> where<\/span> the<\/span> funding<\/span> for<\/span> reconstruction<\/span> will<\/span> come<\/span> from,<\/span> especially<\/span> given<\/span> the<\/span> difficulty<\/span> in<\/span> financing<\/span> the<\/span> emergency<\/span> humanitarian<\/span> phase<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> response,<\/span> which<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> Nations<\/span> says<\/span> is<\/span> about<\/span> half<\/span> the<\/span> funding.\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>At<\/span> his<\/span> COP27<\/span> meeting<\/span> in<\/span> Egypt<\/span> in<\/span> November,<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> announced<\/span> the<\/span> establishment<\/span> of<\/span> a<\/span> “loss<\/span> and<\/span> damage”<\/span> fund<\/span> to<\/span> cover<\/span> climate-related<\/span> damages<\/span> to<\/span> countries<\/span> that<\/span> contribute<\/span> less<\/span> to<\/span> global<\/span> warming<\/span> than<\/span> wealthier<\/span> countries.<\/span><\/p>\n


\n<\/span>However,<\/span> it<\/span> remains<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> seen<\/span> whether<\/span> Pakistan,<\/span> with<\/span> its<\/span> US$350<\/span> billion<\/span> economy,<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> eligible<\/span> to<\/span> take<\/span> advantage<\/span> of<\/span> this<\/span> future<\/span> financing.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>About<\/span> 250<\/span> people,<\/span> including<\/span> government<\/span> officials,<\/span> private<\/span> donors<\/span> and<\/span> international<\/span> financial<\/span> institutions,<\/span> will<\/span> attend<\/span> the<\/span> event,<\/span> according<\/span> to<\/span> organizers.<\/span> Pakistan’s<\/span> Ambassador<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> UN<\/span> in<\/span> Geneva,<\/span> Khalil<\/span> Hashmi,<\/span> said<\/span> Islamabad<\/span> was<\/span> ready<\/span> to<\/span> contribute<\/span> about<\/span> half<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> bill,<\/span> but<\/span> expected<\/span> the<\/span> rest<\/span> to<\/span> come<\/span> from<\/span> donors,<\/span> adding:<\/span> “International<\/span> support<\/span> through<\/span> various<\/span> means.<\/span> to<\/span> mobilize,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> \u201cWe<\/span> look<\/span> forward<\/span> to<\/span> working<\/span> with<\/span> our<\/span> partners.\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>A<\/span> delegation<\/span> from<\/span> the<\/span> International<\/span> Monetary<\/span> Fund<\/span> (IMF)<\/span> will<\/span> meet<\/span> with<\/span> Pakistan’s<\/span> finance<\/span> minister<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> sidelines<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> meeting,<\/span> a<\/span> spokesman<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> lender<\/span> said<\/span> on<\/span> Sunday.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>The<\/span> IMF<\/span> has<\/span> yet<\/span> to<\/span> approve<\/span> his<\/span> $1.1<\/span> billion<\/span> disbursement<\/span> originally<\/span> scheduled<\/span> last<\/span> November,<\/span> leaving<\/span> Pakistan<\/span> with<\/span> only<\/span> enough<\/span> foreign<\/span> exchange<\/span> reserves<\/span> to<\/span> cover<\/span> his<\/span> imports<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> month.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GENEVA (Reuters) Jan.8 – Pakistan and the United Nations are scheduled to hold a major conference in Geneva on Monday against the disaster. Record monsoon rains and melting glaciers last September displaced nearly 8 million people and killed at least 1,700 in disasters attributed to climate change. Most water bodies are now receding, but the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2920,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[280,24,2406],"tags":[56,291,405,694,695],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/VBGD5Z7YN5P6VO55VQJJIX5R2M.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2919"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2919"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2919\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2922,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2919\/revisions\/2922"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2920"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2919"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2919"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2919"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}