PM Shehbaz urges strengthening climate financing in his address to WGS

DUBAI: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday urged the international community to increase climate finance and technology sharing to push private investors to investigate Pakistan’s unexplored green energy and infrastructure prospects.

The prime minister urged global institutions to assist developing nations like Pakistan in attaining sustainable economic growth during his speech at the World Governments Summit (WGS) 2025 in Dubai.

He said that although Pakistan is completely dedicated to mobilising its domestic resources and reforming its policies, international collaboration and financial support remained crucial to accomplishing this aim. He added that the global transformation to a green economy required a shared responsibility. “Pakistan’s energy transition alone demands 100 billion dollars investment,” he added.

Despite huge challenges, the prime minister said, placing their economy on sound footing had been the central plank of what they had achieved in Pakistan in the last one year.

“Pakistan stands at the defining moment of economic transformation. The headline inflation has dropped to 2.4 percent, in January this year, the lowest in the last nine years with interest rate capped at 12 percent,” PM Shehbaz added.

He said that Pakistani nation in the last seven decades had navigated through immense challenges, while remaining steadfast in its commitment, resilience and global cooperation.

PM Shehbaz said they are rapidly scaling up solar, wind and nuclear energy generation. Pakistan’s southern region held 50,000 MW of untapped wind energy potential while the northern hydro projects would add 30,000 MW of clean energy capacity, he informed.

“Solar energy adoption has been accelerated through policy reforms, tax exemption and incentive for investments, net metering and waving of custom duties on solar panels and other equipments,” he added.

PM Shehbaz added that Pakistan offered one of the most dynamic investment landscape in Asia with 70 percent of its young and dynamic and tech savvy youth under the age of 30 and the strategic location Pakistan is placed at, bridges south and central Asia and its emerging middle class represents promising economic opportunities.

The prime minister said besides, they were also enhancing water efficiency through drip irrigation, modern farming, drought resistance crops and water storage to restore the depleting aqua reservoirs.

“The government is also incentivizing agri-innovation by deploying solar-powered systems, using solar power energy for farm operations, climate-smart sensors to monitor soil and weather conditions to modernize the farming system, while reducing their environmental footprints,” he added.

The prime minister said a total of 1,000 Pakistani young agriculture graduates were being sent to China for training in modern advancement in the agriculture techniques.

While they pursued growth targets, the underlying priorities centered around uplifting communities, creating equitable opportunities and building a prosperous future for their people, he underscored.

The prime minister said “Pakistan stands at the threshold of new era that one prioritized infrastructure advancements, economic diversification and human development. The future is not something we passively inherited; rather it is something we actively shaped. Let this summit, herald a dawn of the global peace, sustainable and prosperous future for all.”

Referring to Gaza situation, he said this gathering was being held at a time when the region began to recover from the tumultuous aftershocks of the tragic conflict in Gaza which claimed over 50,000 innocent Palestinian, adding it was hoped that the genocidal drive would be followed by the lasting peace.

However, he reiterated that Pakistan believed that a durable peace was only possible through two-state solution in accordance with the relevant UN resolutions that was the creation of an independent Palestine state, with pre-1967 borders and Al Quds as its Capital.

The prime minister also expressed his deep admiration for the UAE leadership for hosting the summit, adding “Dubai is a city where the future meets with the present” as the city had become a hub of global economy, commerce and technology, with innovative transformation.

PM Shehbaz meets UAE president

Earlier on the sidelines of World Governments Summit, the prime minister met with the UAE President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan wherein they discussed bilateral trade and economic cooperation besides the recent developments in the Middle East.

The UAE President and Abu Dhabi Ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan welcomed the prime minister. Chief of the Army Staff General Syed Asim Munir was also present in the meeting.

Both leaders discussed ways to deepen cooperation between Pakistan and the UAE and explored opportunities to enhance mutual interests.

The talks focused on economic, trade, and development fields, alongside other areas that align with both nations’ visions for sustainable economic growth and prosperity.

The meeting provided an opportunity to address the significance of the World Governments Summit in identifying global trends in governance and presenting actionable strategies to enhance government preparedness in navigating global transformations.