Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said that poverty alleviation and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was an important part of the present government’s priorities.
The Foreign Minister expressed these views while talking to Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Pakistan Knut Ostby who called on him here.
He congratulated Knut Ostby on his appointment as UNDP Resident Representative and appreciated the positive and constructive role of UNDP in Pakistan.
Read more: PM Khan: Trade can play vital role in poverty alleviation sub-continent states
Pakistan and UNDP were working together for a common objective for the last many years, he added.
The Foreign Minister said that Pakistan, the current chair of the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), has always been playing its active role in the development-related debates at international fora.
He also appreciated the UNDP’s assistance to Pakistan in tackling the challenges of development and climate as well as in achieving the SDGs.
Inspiring meeting with FM @SMQureshiPTI. Good discussion on key development issues, including #governance, #disaster recovery, #PovertyEradication, #inequality and #womenempowerment. Looking forward to follow up on key issues. #UNDPinPakistan is ready to be of service! pic.twitter.com/rMTobh4bLo
— Knut Ostby (@knutostby) April 2, 2021
UNDP Resident Representative Knut Ostby thanked the Foreign Minister and assured all-out the support of UNDP in achieving the common objectives.
Later in a tweet, Knut Ostby described the meeting with Foreign Minister Qureshi as “inspiring” during which they had a good discussion on key development issues including governance, disaster recovery, poverty eradication, and women empowerment.
Poverty eradication efforts by Pakistan
Prime Minister Imran asked for a new strategy for sustainable food production and consumption to be considered and adopted at the Food Systems Summit scheduled for next year.
As part of national development efforts, he said his government had accorded the highest priority to achieve SDG-1 (no poverty) and SDG-2 (zero hunger).
He shared the measures that Pakistan undertook to mitigate the sufferings of the poverty-stricken citizens including the historic $8 billion relief package given by his government during the Covid-19 pandemic.
PM Khan also informed the participants of the Ehsaas program through which the poorest families and other vulnerable groups were provided emergency cash assistance by utilizing digital technologies and databases.
Read more: Pakistan among top 15 countries reducing extreme poverty: World Bank
The government also aims to plant 10 billion trees over the next three years and will set aside eight large areas as national reserves or national parks, he declared.
The prime minister said that “Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, agricultural modernization has been included as a vital element of our development strategy. This will move us significantly towards combatting hunger and poverty”, he added. He stated that the success of the efforts undertaken by developing countries to combat poverty largely depends upon international cooperation.
APP with additional input by GVS News Desk