ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office (FO) spokesperson announced on Monday that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will be leaving today (Tuesday) for a two-day official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), to attend “One Water Summit”.
“Prime Minister will visit Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on 3-4 December 2024 to participate in the ‘One Water Summit’,” said the FO spokesperson.
FO Spokesperson, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, said in a statement, “A joint initiative of Saudi Arabia, France, Kazakhstan, and the World Bank, the One Water Summit aims to promote global cooperation and a coherent international approach towards water resource management through high-level political commitments.”
At the summit, she added the prime minister would deliver a keynote address at a roundtable focusing on restoration, preservation, and adaptation in the context of fresh water resources and wetlands. He will also highlight steps being taken by Pakistan to promote water conservation, strengthen climate resilience, improve water quality, create livelihoods, and conserve biodiversity.
The prime minister will underline the importance of international cooperation to tackle the impact of climate-induced floods, erratic and extreme weather patterns, and heat stress on water resources and ecosystems, spokesperson saying adding, the prime minister would also call for meaningful international collaboration for sustainable water resource management.
On the side lines of the summit, the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings and engagements with world leaders and other international partners.
According to sources, the prime minister will be accompanied by key cabinet members including Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, Minister of Energy Musaddiq Malik, Special Advisor on Climate Change Romina Khursheed and Special Assistant Tariq Fatemi. This would be Shehbaz Sharif’s second important visit to the kingdom in less than a month.
The prime minister visited KSA on November 10-11 to attend Joint Arab Islamic Summit held in Riyadh on Israeli aggression in Palestine and Lebanon.
In April end, the prime minister had also paid a crucial visit to Riyadh. The prime minister attended World Economic Forum (WEF) Special Meeting on Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy being held from 28-29 April 2024.
To raise this issue at the heads of State and government level, the President of the French Republic Emmanuel Macron and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, the President of the World Bank Ajay Banga co-organise a “One Water Summit”, in partnership with the Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia Muhammed bin Salman, as announced at COP28.
It aims to contribute to the ongoing United Nations discussions and process to enhance global water governance, accelerate action on SDG6 on water and sanitation, building on the momentum of the UN Water Conference in 2023.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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