ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Denmark have signed the much-awaited Green Framework Engagement Agreement that aims to help Pakistan go for renewable energy, green transition, climate mitigation and adaptation.
The agreement was signed by Pakistan’s Ambassador to Denmark Ahmad Farooq and his Denmark’s counterpart in Islamabad Lis Rosenholm in Copenhagen.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari was supposed to witness the agreement signing but he had to call off the ‘Europe Visit’ at the last minute due to the flood disaster situation in Pakistan.
Agreement to secure green, sustainable future
The agreement is underpinned by the mutual interests, high ambitions and shared visions of the two countries in a green and sustainable future for the planet including through private sector engagement and public-private partnerships.
Replying to a question, Ambassador Farooq termed the agreement a milestone as it broadly covered the areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation, energy sector cooperation, water and sanitation, agriculture, renewable energy etc.
Following the conclusion of the Framework Engagement a Joint Plan of Action will be finalised between the two countries containing specific activities of collaboration, he said.
Pakistan keen to benefit from Danish expertise
Pakistan is keen to benefit from Danish expertise to build its capacity for dealing with the repercussions of Climate Change.
Denmark’s outgoing ambassador Lis Rosenholm also termed the accord an important achievement and a personal accomplishment as it was signed on the last day of her two-year stay in Pakistan.
Her successor the new ambassador-designate Jakob Linulf has arrived in Islamabad and will shortly present his credentials to President Dr Arif Alvi.
Ambassador Rosenholm said Denmark was already assisting Pakistan under its Danish Energy Transition Initiative (DETI) through which technical assistance was being provided to the Ministry of Energy in the areas of planning of long-term energy scenarios and integration of renewable energy into the existing grid.
Pakistan and Denmark enjoy cooperative bilateral relations encompassing all areas of mutual interest, including trade and investment, climate change and renewable energy, she said.
Denmark is a world leader in green energy and a sizable Pakistani Diaspora living in Denmark provides a strong link between the two peoples.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson in a tweet said the agreement reflected Denmark and Pakistan’s shared vision for a green and sustainable future. The current floods in Pakistan, which have been induced by climate change, underscore the need for increasing such cooperation between the developed and the developing countries, said the Pakistan ambassador in Copenhagen, the tweet further said.
Caption: Pakistan’s Ambassador to Denmark, Ahmad Farooq exchanging documents with Denmark’s outgoing ambassador in Pakistan Lis Rosenholm after signing the Green Framework Engagement Agreement.
