Biden ‘determined’ to continue helping flood-ravaged Pakistan
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday met President Joe Biden at his reception for world leaders participating in the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
PM Shehbaz’s aide, Salman Sufi, said that during the meeting, the prime minister appreciated the flood relief efforts by the US government, the continuous Covid vaccine assistance and the collaboration between the two countries.
PM Shehbaz also thanked the USAID chief who visited Pakistan and expressed his gratitude to the American people and government for the assistance sent for Pakistan.
President Biden expressed his profound sadness at the loss of hundreds of lives due to the disaster and extended his sympathy to the affected families.
He expressed the US’ resolve to continue humanitarian assistance to Pakistan.
Responding to reporters’ questions at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday, Hina Khar described the conversation as “constructive and forward-looking.”
The Pakistan-US relationship, the state minister added, was starting at a “solid footing and we don’t want to rush it.”
The minister said there was lot of sympathy and goodwill among world leaders for the flood-devastated Pakistan and now that must be converted into something concrete for the country to recover from the disaster, and build back better. “We have fully briefed the international community about the extent of damage wrought by the climate-induced floods”, she added.
The prime minister stressed that the calls of stranded women and children for help need to be heeded to at international level.
In another tweet, he said, on the second day of UN General Assembly, his discussions with top officials of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank focused on making resources available within the country’s existing programmes for post-flood reconstruction. “In my other meetings with world leaders, we discussed floods, climate change and rehabilitation of flood victims,” he said.
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has vowed to do everything possible to mobilize international support and assistance for the flood affected people in Pakistan.
