Khar calls for early operationalisation of ‘Loss and Damage Fund’

ISLAMABAD: Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar has called for early operationalisation of the “Loss and Damage Fund” and associated arrangements.

Khar led the Pakistan delegation to 22nd Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Minister Meeting (CFAMM) held on 15th March 2023 in London, Foreign Office said here on Friday.

In a statement, the Foreign Office said that Khar also represented Pakistan at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey and the reception hosted by Secretary General Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace.

At the CFAMM, she stated that the Minister of State presented Pakistan’s perspective on global and regional developments and their implications for developing countries including Pakistan. She called on the Commonwealth to take the lead in developing a new fiscally responsible model for sustainable development that addresses the issues of existing debt burden.

The Minister of State outlined the importance of international collaboration on climate change and the availability of significant, additional and predictable financial resources for climate adaptation and mitigation.

She also called for early operationalisation of the “Loss and Damage Fund” and associated arrangements.

The CFAMM endorsed, inter alia, the initiative by the Board of Governors to modernise the Commonwealth, with the establishment of three working groups on reforms; administration and programme; and finance.

Pakistan in its capacity as vice chair of the Board of Governors would be leading the working group on administration and programme, it added.

On the sidelines of Commonwealth events, according to the statement, the Minister of State met with UK Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka MUM Ali Sabry, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya Dr Alfred Mutua, Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Minister MP Robert Oliphant, and Secretary General Commonwealth Patricia Scotland.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023