ISLAMABAD: Pakistan wants to work with the Commonwealth in mobilizing international support for climate-vulnerable countries at the upcoming global climate conference in Azerbaijan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday, according to a statement from his office. 

Pakistan joined hands with other developing nations in 2022 to call for a global fund to mitigate the impacts of climate-induced disasters at the COP27 conference in Egypt. 

Pakistan is consistently ranked as one of the worst-affected countries by climate change, where erratic weather patterns such as heavy monsoon rains and heat waves are frequent. Unusually heavy rains and the melting of glaciers in July 2022 killed at least 1,700 people, affected over 33 million and caused more than $30 billion in damages to the South Asian country. 

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland, who arrived in Pakistan this week on a five-day visit, called on PM Sharif with a five-member delegation in Islamabad. The two sides discussed the government’s youth program, climate change impacts and flood reconstruction efforts, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said in a statement. 

“The Prime Minister said Pakistan wanted to work with the Commonwealth in helping mobilize more international support for climate-vulnerable countries like Pakistan at the forthcoming COP29 in Baku,” the PMO said. 

Sharif described combatting climate change as a common priority for Pakistan and the Commonwealth nations, appreciating Scotland’s climate advocacy for Pakistan following the devastating 2022 floods. 

The PMO said Scotland appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for post-flood reconstruction, hoping that the international community would provide more support in building Pakistan’s climate resilience. 

Sharif and Scotland also discussed the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Samoa later this year. The two spoke about ways in which the two sides could coordinate on building consensus on key issues of mutual interest and chart a roadmap for the Commonwealth.