Home Latest News Shehbaz Sharif Urges SCO States to Jointly Tackle Climate Change

Shehbaz Sharif Urges SCO States to Jointly Tackle Climate Change

P.M. says peace cannot be achieved in Pakistan if it is not also achieved in neighboring Afghanistan

by Staff Report

Photo courtesy Prime Minister’s Office

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif used his address to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)’s Council of Heads of State to call for global action against climate change, as he stressed the floods that ravaged a third of Pakistan will not remain restricted to the country.

“It’s time to act, act now,” he said, emphasizing that the floods had left Pakistan looking like a sea. “The devastating floods in Pakistan are most definitely climate change-induced. It is the result of climate change, cloud outbursts, and unprecedented rains, combined with hill torrents coming down. All this put together makes Pakistan look like a sea of water,” he said, lamenting that he had never before seen devastation of this scale.

Urging the organization to work together and “build a wall” against climate change, he said plans must be formulated now for the sake of future generations. This year’s rains and their resultant floods have affected over 33 million people, with damages to infrastructures, bridges, roads and losses to livestock estimated to have crossed $30 billion. The government has warned of a potential food shortage, noting that millions of acres of crops have also been destroyed by the deluge.

Regional peace

In his speech, the prime minister also stressed on regional stability, noting that there could be no peace in Islamabad if it were not also achieved in Kabul. Maintaining the world would be making a “big mistake” by ignoring Afghanistan while the country tackles terrorism and poverty, he reiterated: “What is good for Afghanistan, is good for Pakistan and vice versa.”

Urging SCO member states to join hands, he said support should be provided for “good initiatives” in war-torn Afghanistan. “Fight this menace of extremism, separatism and terrorism and wipe it from the face of this earth,” he said, while also advising the Taliban government to focus on their future by developing human rights, especially with regards to women and minorities.

Sideline meetings

In addition to P.M. Sharif, the SCO meeting in Uzbekistan also includes the participation of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Uzbek President Mirziyoyev, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The prime minister has met various global leaders on the sidelines of the main summit, including Putin, who told him that a gas pipeline between Russia and Pakistan was possible, as part of the necessary infrastructure was already in place. The long-pending 1,100km gas pipeline was initially conceived in 2015 but has been repeatedly delayed due to the threat of Western sanctions.

“The prime minister reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to work closely with Russia to further expand and strengthen cooperation between the two countries across all areas of mutual benefit including food security, trade and investment, energy, defense and security,” read a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office.

It said both countries had also agreed to convene the next meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission in Islamabad at an early date.

During his official visit, the prime minister also held bilateral meetings with Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon and discussed various matters of mutual interest, including the early completion of the CASA-1000 power project. According to a statement, Sharif stressed on increasing cooperation between the two states in the field of road transportation, adding that Islamabad was willing to facilitate access between Tajikistan and Gwadar and Karachi. The Tajik leader, meanwhile, extended his condolences over the loss of lives due to this year’s floods and assured Tajikistan’s full support for the relief and rehabilitation of the affected people.

In a meeting with Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, the prime minister underlined the importance of boosting bilateral ties through trade, investment, agriculture, information technology and tourism. Reaffirming Pakistan’s principled support to Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh, he reiterated support for Azerbaijan’s right to self-defense in accordance with international law and in the protection of its territorial integrity.

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