New York (TDI): A developing country with limited access to waste management infrastructure, Pakistan benefits from cultural practices and religious values, which encourage minimizing waste – Permanent Representative-designate spoke at the United Nations event on International Day of Zero Waste.
The Day is observed on March 30th every year since 2022, when it was first adopted under Resolution 77/161. The UN Environment Program and UN-Habitat organized an early event to discuss and debate zero waste approaches and regimes, in collaboration with Turkiye’s Permanent Mission to the UN.
Turkiye’s First Lady, H.E. Emine Erdogan was the keynote speaker at the event.
Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative-designate to the UN, represented Pakistan at the commemoration of International Day of Zero Waste organized by @UNEP and @UNHABITAT in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Turkiye to the UN with the support… pic.twitter.com/b7KHdUczu4
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) March 27, 2025
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative-designate, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, told the member countries and all other participants that developing countries, including Pakistan, are still modernizing and resources remain limited when it comes to environment-friendly disposal of wastes.
Nevertheless, Pakistan has national solid waste management and national hazardous waste management policies in addition to an ongoing ban on single use plastics.
Cultural inclination to reuse and not be extravagant compliment Pakistan’s efforts to reduce waste, though it is still not a major contributor.
“…the concept of zero waste is deeply embedded in Pakistan’s culture and religious values,” he noted while stressing “the need for special and differential treatment, capacity-building, technology transfer, and financial support to facilitate sustainable waste management,” in developing countries.
Read More: UNDP holds dialogue on Pakistan’s plastic policy
He referred to alarming statistics of how much waste the world produces annually and concluded that “We are undoubtedly in the midst of a global waste crisis.”
Ambassador Asim confirmed Pakistan’s commitment to any and every global measure to reduce waste, reuse and recycle, and to curtail “plastic pollution.”
He said that Pakistan welcomes the ongoing talks around a legally binding agreement on eliminating plastic use.
He also thanked Turkiye’s role and leadership in initiatives aimed at environmental sustainability.
Nuzhat Rana is an Associate Editor at The Diplomatic Insight.
