In a significant step towards enhancing disaster management capabilities, Pakistan and Switzerland on Saturday signed a bilateral agreement to strengthen their cooperation in handling emergencies and natural disasters. The MoU envisaged bilateral cooperation in disaster risk management including preparedness, response and recovery aimed at reducing adverse impact on people and national economy.
In recent years, our countries have faced brunt of climate change in extreme weather events including devastating floods, landslides, droughts and heat waves. These events are resulting in loss of lives, damage to infrastructure and hurting livelihoods of the people including disruptions to agricultural productivity. Recent heavy monsoon downpours are once again resulting in death and destruction. Hence, there is a pressing need to bolster capacities in disaster management. Switzerland, renowned for its expertise in disaster risk reduction, response and recovery has been actively involved in global efforts to strengthen disaster management frameworks. We believe partnership between Pakistan and Switzerland in this field will facilitate exchange of knowledge, best practices and technical expertise, enabling both countries to enhance their disaster preparedness and response mechanisms. As stated by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif at the MOU signing ceremony, Pakistan will benefit from Switzerland’s advanced early warning systems during emergencies. As climate change intensifies the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, partnerships like this serves as vital building blocks for a more resilient future. There is no denying that climate change is the biggest issue faced by humanity today and this warrants collective efforts to better deal with it. Global initiatives should promote partnerships, networks and research collaborations to enhance understanding and develop innovative solutions. The time to act is now and greater responsibility rests with developed nations to fulfil their pledges vis-à-vis reduction in carbon emissions and providing finances for climate action. Developing countries such as Pakistan direly needs financial support both for mitigation and adaptation efforts. Pledges made at the Geneva Summit for rehabilitation of flood-affected people needs to be materialised at the earliest so that process of rebuilding the lives of affected families faces no delay.
