ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif will undertake an official visit to Egypt from Wednesday to Friday to participate in the 11th Summit of the Developing Eight (D-8) countries being held in Cairo.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar will attend the 21st Session of the D-8 Council of Ministers on Wednesday, according to a press statement issued by the Foreign Office.
The theme of the 11th D-8 Summit is “Investing in Youth and Supporting SMEs: Shaping Tomorrow’s Economy.”
“At the Summit, the Prime Minister will underline the importance of investing in youth and SMEs for building a strong and inclusive economy; creating jobs; advancing innovation; and promoting local entrepreneurship,” the statement read.
PM Shehbaz will also express Pakistan’s strong commitment to the ideals of D-8; underscore the importance of fostering partnerships for mutual benefit and prosperity; and promoting cooperation in agriculture, food security and tourism.
He will also underline Pakistan’s incentives for youth empowerment and financial development.
“The Prime Minister of Pakistan will also attend the Special Session of D-8 on the Humanitarian Crisis and Reconstruction Challenges in Gaza and Lebanon to deliberate on the situation resulting from Israeli aggression in the Middle East. He will underline Pakistan’s principled position on the situation in Palestine and call for peace in the Middle East.”
On the sidelines of the Summit, PM Shehbaz is expected to hold bilateral meetings with participating leaders.
Earlier, addressing the Climate Finance Roundtable Conference hosted by Pakistan in Bakuin November, the prime minister said that global climate finance must be redefined to adequately address the requirements of vulnerable countries.
In his opening remarks at, he called for stronger and more actable climate finance mechanisms under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
PM Shehbaz said that despite repeated commitments, the gaps are growing in quantum leaps, leading to egregious barriers in achieving the objective of UN framework on Climate Change.
Read more: PM Shehbaz urges stronger climate finance mechanism
He said developing countries will need an estimated 6.8 trillion dollars by 2030 to implement less than half their current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). He said the donor countries should fulfill their commitment to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change.
He stressed the need to resume focus on non-debt financing solutions, enabling countries to fund climate initiatives without additional burden.
