Pakistan deserves Int'l support for reconstruction of flood-hit areas: UNSG.

UNITED NATION -- UN Secretary-General (UNSG) Antonio Guterres has said Pakistan deserves massive support directly from the international community for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of flood-affected areas.

He was addressing a joint news conference along with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Sharm Al Sheikh, Egypt on Monday.

The UN Secretary-General said the loss and damage suffered by Pakistan deserve to be considered real and recognized through financial mechanisms, hoping the climate implementation conference will be able to decide it.

He stressed that Pakistan should have access to effective debt relief and concessional funding to carry out the huge task of reconstruction and rehabilitation.

The UN Secretary-General appealed to the international financial institutions and the G-20 countries to create conditions for mechanisms of debt relief for middle-income countries impacted by natural disasters to allow resources to be invested in resilience and recovery and reconstruction.

The UN Secretary-General said Pakistan being a middle-income country has not benefited from debt relief at the level that should be necessary for the country. He said he has been making proposals for debt swaps for countries like Pakistan so that investments could be made in rehabilitation and recovery and reconstruction from a natural disaster.

Expressing full solidarity, he said the UN will be side by side with Pakistan.

He said the UN is proud to be associated with Pakistan for the international donor conference in which we will try to obtain massive support from the international community for the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the areas impacted by the tragic events.

He said the climate implementation summit also needs to define a clear roadmap to deal with the issue of climate change. This should include the...