Pakistan raised $9 billion at international conference Geneva.
Pakistan on Monday raised more than $9 billion to support recovery from last year’s devastating floods at an international conference – a billion more than requested.
These pledges came as the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan began in Geneva.
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif along with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres jointly hosts the conference.
The day-long meeting – which was attended by heads of state and government and other stakeholders – aimed to garner international support for the recovery of super flood-affected populations and climate-resilience of damaged infrastructure.
During the conference, Prime Minister Shehbaz requested $8 billion from Pakistan’s international partners to rebuild the country over the next three years. As Guterres called for massive support to aid reconstruction efforts.
Attendees heeded Prime Minister Shehbaz’s call, pledging millions of dollars even before the pledging portion of the conference began.
The outcome document releases at the end of the day states that the delegations recalled their support for immediate relief efforts and reaffirmed their support for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the people of Pakistan.
The delegations express their solidarity and announce pledges of financial support for ongoing humanitarian efforts along with the goals and priority areas outlined in the recovery plan, the document said.
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“Total these pledges, from bilateral and multilateral partners, total more than $9bn. Further announcements of sympathetic support were made by several delegations,” it states.
At the end of the conference, Minister of State for External Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar says the pledges total more than “9 billion dollars. Today is indeed a day that gives us great hope. The message from the world is clear. The world will stand with those who go through any natural disaster, and will not leave them alone.”
Contributions
Earlier, Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb says the first plenary of the conference concluded with “generosity” from the international community. Pakistan raised $9 billion at international conference Geneva.
She says on Twitter, “The European Union give $93 million, Germany $88 million, China $100 million. The Islamic Development Bank $4.2 billion, the World Bank $2 billion, Japan $77 million. The Asian Development Bank $1.5 billion, USAID $100 million, France $345 million.”
As the second full climate conference kicked off, the minister says the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) had pledged $1bn.
In a subsequent tweet, she added that Saudi Arabia had pledged $1 billion for Pakistan’s reconstruction efforts.