The PM asks the other side to also realise it; Pakistan, Switzerland sign MoU over disaster management
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif addresses a reception hosted in honour of England and Pakistan Cricket Teams at the PM House in Islamabad on December 5, 2022. — Twitter/@pmln_org
NATHIAGALI: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said that Pakistan could not afford to waste its resources on regional tensions, asking the other side to also realise it.
He termed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Pakistan and Switzerland over disaster management as a vital step that would promote cooperation between the two countries to harness technology and expertise in future to tackle natural catastrophes jointly.
Addressing the MoU signing ceremony, the prime minister said that they looked forward for Swiss cooperation in terms of getting an advanced warning system and other gadgets to secure Pakistan as much as possible from natural disasters.
The prime minister also said that they wanted to further expand bilateral ties with Switzerland in diverse fields, including the tourism sector, as Pakistan was blessed with natural beauty.
Appreciating the Swiss foreign minister’s remarks about peace in the region, the prime minister said that it was important to maintain peace in this part of the world and that Switzerland could play the role of a catalyst to promote peace in the region. He said that Pakistan liked to promote progress, and prosperity, eradicate unemployment, and poverty, and enhance education, IT, industry, women empowerment, and agriculture for the well-being of the people. The other side, he said, should also realise it.
Pakistan can neither afford tension in the region nor it would like to waste its resources, he said, adding that they must commit their resources to the development of the country. The prime minister reiterated that there could be no lasting peace in this part of the world till their issues, including Kashmir, were resolved.
Speaking on the occasion, Foreign Minister of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis said that signing the MoU between the two countries was vital for collaboration against climate change. He said Pakistan was rich in cultural heritage and breathtaking landscapes, but it had become prone to natural disasters, resulting in last year’s floods, displacement of people with wide destruction.
The Swiss minister said these disasters required an urgent need for international cooperation to mitigate the risks associated with the natural catastrophes. He further highlighted the joint efforts between the two countries during the years 2010 and 2022 when the devastating floods struck Pakistan, adding the Swiss government swiftly provided emergency aid and supported the affected people.
Earlier, the prime minister witnessed the signing of an MoU between the two countries by the visiting Swiss foreign minister and National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Lt-Gen Inam Haider Malik to cooperate in the field of natural disasters. Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman, ministers and relevant authorities were present on the occasion. The document between the two countries will also prove as a milestone in bringing the national disaster management at par with the international standards under the vision of the prime minister. It will also help promote cooperation between Pakistan and Switzerland in forecasting natural disasters, their impacts, swift response and rehabilitation measures.
Earlier, the prime minister received the Swiss minister of foreign affairs Ignazio Cassis, accompanied by three members of Parliament. They are on a bilateral visit to Pakistan from 7-9 July at the invitation of the prime minister, PM Office Media Wing said in a press release. The two sides also agreed to collaborate in tourism promotion, including eco-tourism and development of related infrastructure using both the G2G and B2B channels. In this regard, it was agreed that a meeting would be convened shortly to further spell out modes of cooperation. Both sides also agreed on disaster management, early warning and carbon market collaboration.
Separately, PM Shehbaz Saturday tweeted that the laptop scheme had truly been a game-changer. “Under the present scheme, 100,000 laptops will be distributed among the students of Pakistan in a phased manner. Like the past, transparency & merit will be the guiding principles in the selection of recipients,” he wrote.
In another tweet, the prime minister said that people like late Abdul Sattar Edhi truly reflected the moral values of a society and reinforced their trust in the humanity. He paid tribute to the services of late Edhi on his 7th death anniversary. He said that people like late Edhi worked for their objective with dedication and desire which later became a symbol of their contributions.
Abdul Sattar Edhi had been one of those personalities who had devoted his life to serve humanity and spent his whole life in struggle, enthusiasm and dedication for his goal to serve humanity, the prime minister added in the tweet posted in Urdu language.
