Pakistan calls for investment in infrastructure to battle against COVID-19

In its battle against the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistan has urged the need for investment both from the public and the private sector, especially in infrastructure, in their response against Covid-19.

Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Munir Akram while speaking at a virtual meeting of the Group of Friends of SDG Financing with the Secretary General Antonio Guterres also urged that all measures need to be translated into action.

"We will need a coalition of leaders, coalition of the like-minded to reach out at a bilateral level to heads of state and heads of government to central banks to reach out to the G 20 summit when it takes place later this year to reach out in the IMF, IBRD meetings, as well as other United Nations summits that are scheduled to take place. We need to have a coalition of likeminded, which will reach out to the decision makers in order to get an agreement on emergency action" as "the only way' to get action,” he said.

Ambassador also expressed his commitment to lead the platform of ECOSOC for "conducting consultations" and hoped that "the six clusters will engage with the ECOSOC in order to see how to advance as our process into translating our advocacy into agreements at the FFD and the high level political forum, ultimately".