SIALKOT: Foreign Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif Sunday said that Pakistan is a peace-loving country and keen on establishing cordial relations with its neighboring counties on the basis of equality for maintaining peace in the region.
Talking to APP at his residence, the minister said that our top priority is establishing peace in the country as well as in the region in larger interest of people of the region. But this flexibility and the efforts in this regard should not be underestimated, he added.
Answering a question, the minister said that all-out efforts were being made to develop healthy and durable relations with Afghanistan, Iran, India and Russia as well as other countries of the region.
To another question, the foreign minister said that high-ups of Pakistan and Indian governments are in touch to handle harassment incidents of Pakistani High Commission.
He hoped that efforts in this regard would bear fruit and relationship between the two neighboring countries would become normal.
Pakistan and Russia are enjoying highly cordial relations and Russia is extending cooperation and support to Pakistan in different fields, the foreign minister said, adding that relations between these two countries would be further strengthened with passage of time and both the countries would become closer.
“We want to see Afghanistan as a peaceful and stable country because Pakistan would benefit the most from a peaceful Afghanistan,” he added.
The minister said Pakistan was making hectic efforts for purging the country of menace of terrorism to make it a safe place for its people, adding that Pakistan had rendered great scarifies in the form of precious human lives and suffered economic losses in the war against terrorism.
He said the world should recognize the scarifies rendered by Pakistan in war against terrorism and ignoring the scarifies would be unjust. No country in the world has done more than Pakistan to check the menace of terrorism, he said.
The foreign minister said that megaproject, China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), would play an instrumental role in bringing revolutionary changes in the country. He said that the economic stability and prosperity in the country would not only benefit the people of Pakistan but of the region at large.
Foreign Minister: Pakistan wants cordial relations with neighbors
Foreign Minister: Pakistan wants cordial relations with neighbors
ADB, Pakistan sign over $300 million agreements to undertake climate resilience initiatives
- Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in weather patterns
- The projects in Sindh and Punjab will restore nature-based coastal defenses and enhance agricultural productivity
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed more than $300 million agreements to undertake two major climate resilience initiatives, Pakistan’s Press Information Department (PID) said on Tuesday.
The projects include the Sindh Coastal Resilience Sector Project (SCRP), valued at Rs50.5 billion ($180.5 million), and the Punjab Climate-Resilient and Low-Carbon Agriculture Mechanization Project (PCRLCAMP), totaling Rs34.7 billion ($124 million).
Pakistan ranks among nations most vulnerable to climate change and has seen erratic changes in its weather patterns. In 2022, monsoon floods killed over 1,700 people, displaced another 33 million and caused over $30 billion losses, while another 1,037 people were killed in floods this year.
The South Asian country is ramping up climate resilience efforts, with support from the ADB and World Bank, and investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, particularly in vulnerable areas.
“Both sides expressed their commitment to effectively utilize the financing for successful and timely completion of the two initiatives,” the PID said in a statement.
The Sindh Coastal Resilience Project (SCRP) will promote integrated water resources and flood risk management, restore nature-based coastal defenses, and strengthen institutional and community capacity for strategic action planning, directly benefiting over 3.8 million people in Thatta, Sujawal, and Badin districts, according to ADB.
The Punjab project will enhance agricultural productivity and climate resilience across 30 districts, improving small farmers’ access to climate-smart machinery, introducing circular agriculture practices to reduce residue burning, establishing testing and training facilities, and empowering 15,000 women through skills development and livelihood diversification.
Earlier this month, the ADB also approved $381 million in financing for Pakistan’s Punjab province to modernize agriculture and strengthen education and health services, including concessional loans and grants for farm mechanization, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, and nursing sector reforms.
