ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday attended a panel discussion as part of his World Economic Forum engagements in Riyadh, where he highlighted “global inequity” as a major problem in addressing health care needs around the world.
Sharif made the remarks while speaking at a panel discussion, titled “Redefining Global Health Agenda,” during a special two-day meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in the Saudi capital.
The prime minister spoke about a number of health care issues and recounted to the attendees how the COVID-19 pandemic had exposed health care “imbalances” across the world.
“Today, I think the first and foremost problem is global inequity,” he said. “Now look at COVID, it exposed these imbalances, gaps hugely. Imagine, global north and global south distribution of vaccines and so on and so forth.”
The prime minister highlighted climate change as another major factor affecting health care in the world, explaining the devastation caused in Pakistan by climate-induced floods in 2022.
“Pakistan does not contribute even a fraction of emissions yet we are on the red list of climate change and in 2022, we experienced the worst climate change floods in Pakistan, devastating everything from hostels, schools, lands, agriculture, everything,” he noted.
“And we had to invest hundreds of billions of rupees to rehabilitate people, but when it came to the question of seeking funds from abroad, those were loans, expensive loans.”
Sharif questioned how could a developing country afford such expensive loans to rehabilitate people who were affected by a crisis they did not contribute to.
The Pakistan prime minister arrived in Riyadh on Saturday to attend the WEF meeting on global collaboration, growth and energy. He was extended an invitation to attend the meeting by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Professor Klaus Schwab, the WEF executive chairman.
“PM Shehbaz Sharif and his delegation will present Pakistan’s priorities in global health, fintech, climate change, inclusive energy and rejuvenating growth,” the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement on X.
The PMO said Sharif will also meet Kuwait’s emir, Meshal Al Ahmed Al Jabr, and Saudi ministers of finance, industry and investment separately.
“The Prime Minister will also meet the Co-Chairman of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and the President of the Islamic Development Bank,” the PMO said.
Prior to Sharif’s departure, the PM Office said he would be accompanied by Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb.
It said Sharif’s participation in the forum will afford Pakistan an opportunity to highlight its priorities in global health architecture, inclusive growth, revitalizing regional collaboration, and the need for striking a balance between promoting growth and energy consumption.
SHARIF, ISLAMIC DEVELOPMENT BANK PRESIDENT DISCUSS ONGOING PROJECTS
Sharif met Dr. Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, the president of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) during the sidelines of the WEF meeting to discuss the bank’s ongoing projects in the country.
The two sides reviewed the current progress of IDB’s projects in Pakistan. Sharif thanked the IDB president for the bank’s investment of $1 billion in Pakistan during his tenure, the PMO said.
The Pakistani prime minister thanked the ADB president for the bank’s financial support during the devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan.
“Both sides agreed to complete the IDB’s ongoing projects in Pakistan as soon as possible,” the PMO said. “Both exchanged views on finding new ways to enhance cooperation between Pakistan and the IDB.”
Sharif will also attend the 15th session of the Islamic Summit Conference organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on May 4-5 in the Gambian capital of Banjul to discuss a variety of regional and global issues, including Palestine, Islamophobia, climate change and the status of minorities, the Pakistani state-run APP news agency reported.
The session will be held under the slogan “Enhancing Unity and Solidarity through Dialogue for Sustainable Development,” according to a press release issued by the OIC General Secretariat.
The Islamic Summit is a principal organ of the OIC focused on the formulation, development, and implementation of decisions made by 57 member states. It is attended by concerned heads of state such as prime ministers, presidents, emirs and other equivalent heads.
At WEF session in Riyadh, Pakistan PM highlights ‘global inequity’ in health care
https://arab.news/5vpqk
At WEF session in Riyadh, Pakistan PM highlights ‘global inequity’ in health care
- Shehbaz Sharif cites the example of COVID-19 pandemic, distribution of vaccines in global north and south
- The Pakistan PM is in Riyadh to attend a two-day World Economic Forum meeting on global growth and energy
Death toll in Pakistan wedding suicide blast rises to six
- Attack targeted members of local peace committee in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Dera Ismail Khan
- Peace committees are community-based groups that report militant activity to security forces
PESHAWAR: The death toll from a suicide bombing at a wedding ceremony in northwestern Pakistan rose to six, police said on Saturday, after funeral prayers were held for those killed in the attack a day earlier.
The bomber detonated explosives during a wedding gathering in the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, injuring more than a dozen, some of them critically.
“The death toll has surged to six,” said Nawab Khan, Superintendent of Police for Saddar Dera Ismail Khan. “Police have completed the formalities and registered the case against unidentified attackers.”
“It was a suicide attack and the Counter Terrorism Department will further investigate the case,” he continued, adding that security had been stepped up across the district to prevent further incidents.
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the blast so far.
Khan cautioned against speculation, citing ongoing militancy in the area, and said the investigation was being treated with “utmost seriousness.”
The explosion targeted the home of a member of a local peace committee, which is part of community-based groups that cooperate with security forces and whose members have frequently been targeted by militants in the past.
Some media reports also cited a death toll of seven, quoting police authorities.
Emergency officials said several of the wounded were taken to hospital soon after the blast.
Militant attacks have intensified in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since the Taliban returned to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021, with Islamabad accusing Afghan authorities of “facilitating” cross-border assaults, a charge Kabul denies.
