Islamabad: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is set to visit Paris from June 22-23 to attend the New Global Financing Pact Summit, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday.
Hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron, the summit provides an opportunity for leaders to engage in discussions aimed at addressing the financing challenges of sustainable development, environmental concerns, energy transition, and the climate change agenda.
With other significant international events and conferences scheduled over the next two years, the forum intends to establish principles and necessary steps for a comprehensive reform of the international financial system. The ultimate goal is to foster a more balanced and equitable partnership between the North and the South. As a prominent stakeholder in global discourse, a leader within the G-77 and China, and one of the largest developing countries affected by climate change, Pakistan will actively contribute to the Paris Finance Summit’s deliberations, officials said.
Innovating finances for resilience
“Prime Minister Sharif will present Pakistan’s perspective and proposals for reforming international financial institutions, climate finance, green infrastructure, attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and addressing debt-related issues, the Pakistan foreign ministry said. The prime minister will also hold bilateral meetings with other world leaders, including President Macron, on the sidelines of the summit.
PM Sharif will participate in a roundtable discussion titled “Innovating with instruments and financing to address new vulnerabilities” on June 22. The dialogue will focus on the need for a comprehensive approach to reducing poverty and building resilience in the face of increasing shocks like climate events and pandemics. Potential avenues including carbon credit markets, insurance mechanisms, responsive debt instruments, additional taxation schemes, and contributions tied to the ‘polluter pays principle’, are expected to be discussed.
Pakistan is actively exploring options and solutions to protect lives, livelihoods, and natural resources, particularly in the wake of the 2022 floods that killed 1,700 people, affected 33 million people, and submerged one-third of the country under water.
New Global Financial Pact
The ‘New Global Financial Pact’ Summit will take place at Palais Brongniart, Paris, from June 22 to 23, 2023. The event aims to address the impact of climate, energy, health, and economic crises, especially in vulnerable countries, with a focus on necessary financing. Four objectives have been outlined: restoring fiscal space for indebted nations, promoting private sector development in low-income countries, encouraging investment in green infrastructure for energy transition, and mobilizing innovative financing for climate-vulnerable countries.
Who is attending the summit?
The summit will bring together several heads of state and government, dozens of heads of international organizations and hundreds of civil society and private sector representatives. These include World Bank President Ajay Banga, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva, President of the European Commission Ursula Von der Leyen, activist and UN Goodwill Ambassador Vanessa Nakate, philanthropist and co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Melinda French Gates, and leaders of Germany, Comoros, Ghana, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Barbados among others.
