Pakistan floods: UN chief to take up debt swaps issue with IMF, WB

ISLAMABAD: UNSG António Guterres said on Saturday that UN will strongly advocate for ‘debt swaps’ with IMF and World Bank through which developing countries like Pakistan instead of paying a debt to foreign creditors would make payments to finance climate projects at home, ARY News reported.

“We will go on strongly advocating for these solutions in the meetings with IMF and World Bank, which will take place soon.”

“It is a question of justice, Pakistan is paying the price of something that was created by others,” he said.

Talking to the media at Karachi airport along with Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal, UN chief called upon the international community to scale up their support for flood-hit Pakistan.

“I have seen many disasters in the world but I have never seen climate carnage on these scales,” he said, adding that he had seen from emergence workers to ordinary people, who were helping their neighbourers in this time of difficulty.

He further said that families had lost their houses, the farmers had lost their crops and their livestock.

Massive and urgent financial support for Pakistan is the need of the hour, he said, adding this is not a question of solidarity, generosity, but it is the question of justice.

I was moved by the generosity of people affected by the Pakistan floods toward one another.

They have opened their homes & shared what they have.

This is an example of solidarity for all countries as the impacts of the climate crisis continue to impact the most vulnerable. pic.twitter.com/sv8NduyiSk

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 10, 2022

“It is a question of justice, Pakistan is paying the price of something that was created by others,” he said.

Antonio Guterres on Saturday visited several areas of Pakistan ravaged by floods, calling for increased global financial support at the end of a two-day trip aimed at raising awareness of the disaster.

Later in a tweet, the UN chief said he was moved by the generosity of the people affected by the floods. Pakistan estimates the damage at $30 billion, and both the government and Guterres have blamed the flooding on climate change.

Beyond the human suffering of the affected people in Pakistan, I have also seen great heights of heroism.

I thank the civil society, humanitarian organizations, and the UN teams who have rushed in, for their tireless work.

We stand in solidarity with the people of Pakistan. pic.twitter.com/eFzBoOecxo

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 10, 2022

Huge areas of the country are still underwater and hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes. The government says the lives of nearly 33 million people have been disrupted.

With additional input from Reuters.