Washington, 29 September 2022 (TDI): Foreign Minister of Pakistan Bilawal Bhutto Zardari urges US and China to unite and take collective action against climate change.
The Foreign Minister expressed willingness to play the role of a bridge between China and the US to confront the issue.
FM @BBhuttoZardari expresses Pakistan’s willingness to play role of a bridge between China and the US in order to collectively deal with issue of climate changehttps://t.co/cG0ZdUoHed
— Radio Pakistan (@RadioPakistan) September 29, 2022
Remarks by Foreign Minister of Pakistan
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari gave the following remarks in an interview with the Foreign Policy magazine:
“Our relationship with China is not new; it has long roots, bipartisan roots. And I like to say that we wanted to be friends with China when nobody wanted to be friends with China. Now, everybody wants to be friends with China.”
“As far as helping Pakistan, China has helped Pakistan whenever we have been in difficult times. The previous administration left us in a precarious economic situation.”
“Lifesaving decisions for our economy were made first and foremost by China as far as our floods are concerned—not only the immediate aid relief but also as far as our loan payments are concerned.”
“Not everything is about the geopolitical conflict between the United States and China. And I think it’s preposterous that we’re even having that conversation while talking about my country’s survival and our ability to deal with cataclysmic flooding—it’s absolutely ridiculous.”
“We won’t be able to confront climate change if the United States and China don’t work together.”
“We’re still in the initial rescue-and-relief phase, and we’re conducting our damage needs assessment. So far, we’ve only launched flash appeals, to which we’ve had a fantastic response—not only the United States contribution of around $60 million but from all of our friends.”
“It’s all a drop in the ocean compared to what we need. Once we’re done with the assessment, we’ll be in a better place to understand the total damage. At the moment, it’s just a guesstimate, which puts the total damage at $30 billion.”
Also read: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister discusses flood situation with US Senator
