PM Shehbaz to attend Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif is set to attend the New Global Financial Pact Summit in Paris, aimed at addressing climate change amidst a wave of crises affecting debt-burdened nations, ARY News reported on Monday.

The Paris Summit, scheduled for June 22-23, 2023, is being hosted by France, with the objective of setting the foundations for a new global financing architecture beyond the Bretton Woods system to address climate change, biodiversity crisis and development challenges.

France says the two-day summit, which begins on Thursday and will bring together some 50 heads of state and government, was more of a platform for ideas sharing ahead of a cluster of major economic and climate meetings in the coming months.

Lending, taxation, and the potential structural overhaul of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank are some of the noteworthy items on the Summit’s agenda.

In light of this gathering, PM Shehbaz Sharif will embark on a three-day official visit to Paris, commencing on Wednesday (June 21).

During his visit, the prime minister will participate in the Summit, presenting Pakistan’s framework for managing floods and natural disasters.

Sources told ARY News that PM Shehbaz is expected to hold a meeting with the French President Emmanuel Macron to discuss mutual interests and areas of collaboration.

Sources also claimed that the prime minister is likely to meet Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz supremo Nawaz Sharif in London.

Earlier, Federal Minister for Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Shazia Atta Marri said that over 33 million people were affected owing to heavy rains and flash floods in Pakistan.

Shazia Marri said climate change had wreaked havoc on Pakistan this summer and affected more than 33 million people, including 0.65 million pregnant women and about 4 million children.

The minister said climate change was probably the greatest threat being faced by humanity today. “A few years back, many around the world, including Socialist International members were debating on the issue of climate change, as the debate continues, the climate-related disasters kept wreaking havoc,” she added.

She said that climate change had become a reality and it feared the global community which was now, showing some seriousness towards it and “I hope, this seriousness of the world community would be changed into taking some real actions this time”.