Photo courtesy PID
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday urged the global community to implement a “fair, equitable and judicious” formula for the distribution of financial resources, saying it is never too late.
“Let’s stand up and say no to injustice,” he said at the New Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris that was hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron with an aim toward improving lending systems for developing countries. Stressing that developed countries should distribute resources fairly to help mitigate the suffering of developing nations and ensure world peace, he lamented the response of international lending institutions when Pakistan sought funds to tackle the aftermath of last year’s floods.
“Of course, we are very grateful to our friendly countries across the globe for their valuable and timely contribution, but largely, the cash amount had to be generated from our own resources,” he said. “And when we approached international institutions, they said, ‘Well, we can give you loans’,” he added.
“We know that there are tensions around the globe and billions and billions of dollars are being spent over there to defend this [country],” he said, in an apparent reference to Ukraine, which has been granted billions in aid, as well as a hefty IMF program. “On the one hand, you are ready to provide everything for the defense of a country or countries—that is perfectly okay—but when it comes to the question of saving thousands and thousands of people from dying, then [one has] to borrow money at a very high cost. Then you have to … beg and borrow and further deteriorate your already very precarious financial situation,” he said.
Reiterating the need for a “fair, equitable and judicious” formula for the distribution of financial resources, he said this was the only way to peace in the world. “Unless we come forward in generous terms to provide an opportunity and a system, and a mechanism which will satisfy the most vulnerable at a bare minimum, and which will create harmony in terms of economic justice and fairness, this world shall always be in trouble,” he warned.
On the sidelines of the summit, the prime minister met several world leaders and heads of the U.N. and IMF, and apprised them of the challenges facing developing nations, especially due to climate change. Among the leaders he met were the French president, the Saudi crown prince, the president of the E.U. Commission, and the president of the Islamic Development Bank.