Pakistan launched its first-ever Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Investor Map 2023, which identifies concrete, investable solutions to the country’s pressing needs, at a special session of the United Nations SDG Investment Fair 2023, held in New York on Wednesday.
It also unveiled a diversified portfolio of climate-resilient investments worth $2.84 billion in projects that include adapting to climate change, low-cost housing construction and Microfinance, the financial services provided to low-income individuals excluded from traditional banking.
Launching the SDG Investor Map, Ambassador Munir Akram, Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, said: “This Map highlights bankable investment opportunities for Pakistan, which can lead to a reduced trade deficit, transitions to alternate energy, a robust infrastructure, and enhanced food security in the country.”
In his keynote address to the session via video-link from Islamabad, Tariq Bajwa, Special Assistant to Pakistan’s Prime Minister on Finance, said, “As Pakistan recovers from the devastating impact of the 2022 floods, the government is prioritizing efforts to mobilize financing for development to not only support long-term recovery and reconstruction efforts, but also to achieve inclusive economic growth aligned with SDGs.”
“We are cognizant of Pakistan’s current macroeconomic challenges”, he said.
Bajwa also reaffirmed the Government of Pakistan’s intent to begin working on a country Integrated National Financing Framework in continued partnership with UNDP.
The session was attended by senior officials from the Government of Pakistan, UNDP, UNDESA, as well as leading representatives from the international private sector, financial institutions, multilateral and bilateral entities, as well as networks of banks, investors, development agencies, and advisory partners.
In his remarks, Ambassador Akram also reiterated Pakistan’s full commitment to achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its goals, but said that the growth trajectory had been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the catastrophic floods of 2022 and the ongoing food, fuel, and financial crisis.—APP
