Pakistan exceeds target, raises more than $9bn for flood recovery.

Pakistan on Monday raised more than $9 billion at an international conference seeking support for its recovery from last year's devastating floods - a billion more than requested.

The pledges came as the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan kicked off in Geneva. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif co-hosted the conference along with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

The purpose of the day-long moot - attended by heads of state and government and other stakeholders - was to marshal international support to rehabilitate the population affected by super floods and reconstruct damaged infrastructure in a climate-resilient manner.

During the conference, PM Shehbaz sought $8bn from Pakistan's international partners over the next three years to rebuild the country as Guterres called for massive support to aid the rebuilding effort.

Participants appeared to heed PM Shehbaz's call, with hundreds of millions of dollars promised even before the pledging part of the conference had begun.

An outcome document issued at the day's end noted that delegations recalled their assistance to immediate relief efforts and affirmed their support to the people of Pakistan for a resilient recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.

Delegations expressed their solidarity and announced commitments of financial support to the realisation of the objectives and priority areas outlined in the recovery plan, as well as to ongoing humanitarian efforts, the document said.

'Taken as a whole these commitments totalled more than $9bn, from both bilateral and multi-lateral partners. Further announcements for in-kind support were made by several delegations,' it said.

At the closing of the conference, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar said commitments totalled 'more than $9bn'.

'Today has truly been a day which gives us great hope. The message from the world is clear: The world will stand by those who go through any natural calamities, and will not leave them alone,' she said.

Earlier, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said the first plenary of the conference had culminated in a 'generous outpouring' from the international community.

'The European Union pledged $93 million, Germany $88m, China $100m, Islamic Development Bank $4.2 billion, World Bank $2bn, Japan $77m, Asian Development Bank $1.5bn, USAID $100m, France $345m,' she said on Twitter.

As the second plenary of the climate conference began, the minister said the...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT