Commonwealth secretary general hails Pakistan’s ‘resilience’ post-2022 floods

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland on Monday hailed Pakistan’s “resilience, passion and determination” in the last two years as it dealt with the challenges and damage inflicted by the super floods of 2022.

Addressing a joint press conference with Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar in Islamabad, Scotland referred to the “terrible events of two years ago” and said: “Pakistani resilience, passion and determination has been evident in the last two years.”

The Commonwealth secretary-general had arrived at the Islamabad airport a day ago, where she was welcomed by Additional Foreign Secretary (Europe) Ambassador Shafqat Ali Khan, the Foreign Office (FO) had said.

According to state-run Radio Pakistan, Scotland is on a five-day visit to Pakistan.

Earlier today, Dar, who is also the foreign minister, had received Scotland at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the capital.

“They will discuss areas of collaboration between Pakistan and the Commonwealth, including climate resilience, sustainable development, women and youth empowerment, education, and capacity building,” the FO said in a post on X.

Speaking alongside Dar today, Scotland said: “It is a great privilege and pleasure to be here at last in Pakistan.”

She said she was “very touched” by the “stalwart support that Pakistan has given Commonwealth throughout the years, but particularly through the last eight years when I had the privilege to serve the now-56 member states”.

Scotland commended Pakistan for its “enthusiastic participation in all aspects of our work”.

“But the truth is our world is facing some very difficult problems and we have never needed each other […] and the friendship that exists between our Commonwealth members more than we do today,” she highlighted.

The Commonwealth official said it was a “great honour that I am able to come now at last to Pakistan to see for myself how Pakistan has risen from the terrible events of two years ago”, referring to the devastating floods of 2022.

The floods induced by the monsoon rains had inflicted an estimated loss of $3 billion on the country, caused over 1,700 deaths and displaced eight million people.

“Pakistani resilience, passion and determination has been evident in the last two years. None of us will forget what happened here, when the floods affected more than 33m Pakistanis, who lost more than 2m of their homes, lost their livelihoods, lost that which made life good.

“And it was our privilege and our pleasure to stand in solidarity with Pakistan during those darker days but it’s my pleasure to come and celebrate now with Pakistan as you rise from those difficulties,” Scotland affirmed.

Last year, the UK had provisionally allocated a greater share of this year’s Official Development Assistance to Pakistan, reflecting the aim of boosting efforts to strengthen climate resilience and reduce humanitarian risks after the 2022 floods.

Speaking about the Pakistani youth, Scotland highlighted the country was “leading for the Commonwealth in terms of our youth ministers’ meeting”.

Stating that the Commonwealth was “saddened” that the meeting could not be held in Pakistan, Scotland recalled: “Pakistan came to London and was there, and so even if it wasn’t here, physically, it was absolutely Pakistan in Marlborough House.”

Scotland said she was “thrilled” to hear Dar’s assurance of Pakistan’s stalwart support for the Commonwealth as “we go forward in a new digitalised AI-enabled world”.

The secretary-general expressed confidence that the “65 per cent of Pakistans that are under the age of 30 will not just be the leaders of tomorrow but they will help us co-create the future from today”.

‘Special focus’ on women, youth: Dar

Meanwhile, speaking before Scotland, Dar said Pakistan would “continue to engage with the Commonwealth with a special focus on women empowerment and capacity-building for the young people”.

The deputy PM stressed that Pakistan attached great importance to the Commonwealth and its institutions, Radio Pakistan reported.

Stating that the platform was important for “forging consensus and developing partnerships”, Dar urged the Commonwealth to call for the “resolution of outstanding disputes among member states with greater urgency and press for the respect of international law and implementation of UN Security Council resolutions”.

The foreign minister recalled that during his meeting with Scotland, he assured her of Pakistan’s commitment to the Commonwealth’s sustainable development agenda.

He asserted that Pakistan’s vision of regional connectivity and trade was aligned with the Commonwealth’s, adding that the country supported the forum’s target of increasing intra-Commonwealth trade to $2 trillion by 2030.

Dar said Pakistan saw vast opportunities for collaboration with the Commonwealth in various fields, especially education, skill development, youth and women empowerment, health, and environmental preservation.

He said he briefed the Commonwealth secretary-general about Pakistan’s policies to combat climate change and that the country would work with the platform to build partnerships to develop resilience against climate-induced disasters.