Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday called upon the friendly countries, international donors and world community to honour their commitments made at the Tokyo Conference to help Pakistan reconstruct and rehabilitate its economy that endured a loss of $43 billion during last 9 years for being frontline ally in war on terror.
Qureshi in his opening remarks while chairing the FoDP meeting, said that after 9/11 attacks, Pakistan experienced 247 suicide blasts, in which some 3000 civilians were killed and more than 7000 injured." The minister said 2550 troops have scarified their lives in fight against terrorism. The economic loss during last nine years to Pakistan was around $43 billion.
The FoDP meeting considered and agreed on implementation of Integrated Energy Sector Recovery Report that estimated at least $7.7 billion investment in energy sector of Pakistan. The report will be submitted to the next FoDP ministerial meeting to be held in Brussels for its formal approval. The government of Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank had co-chaired the preparation of the report.
The report includes recommendations on steps to reform Pakistan's energy sector. In addition, it notes a requirement of $7.7 billion to finance identified investments between now and the next three years which will add an additional 6,700 MW capacity. The report also identifies a requirement of $14.88 billion in private sector investments for priority projects in the energy sector.
The FoDP members confirmed their commitment to building on the government efforts by generating greater interest in investment in the energy sector by international business and through economic assistance. A presentation was given on the Malakand Development Strategy and the Post-Crisis Needs Assessment (PCNA). It was emphasised that the PCNA should be completed as soon as possible.
The meeting underlined that implementation of the PCNA should help address the root causes of extremism and terrorism. It was noted that the World Bank Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Fata and Balochistan was now operational which would facilitate funding for projects in areas affected terrorism. The meeting of the FoDP agreed to propose a draft agenda for the Ministerial Meeting in Brussels October 14, 2010 namely, (i) Integrated Energy Sector Recovery Report; (ii) Malakand Development Strategy and Post-crisis Needs Assessment; (iii) Institution-capacity Building; and (iv) Public Private Partnership. The foreign minister said Pakistan should be given access to world markets, he said, adding that people of Pakistan have attached high expectations to the Friends of Pakistan Forum.
He said the assistance would not only rescue our war-ravaged economy, but also create opportunities for the people affected by the war against militancy and terrorism. The meeting welcomed the intention of the government of Pakistan and FoDP members to hold events with Pakistani and international corporate sector, focusing on energy and other priority areas.
The meeting was attended by senior officials from Australia, Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Iran, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, The Netherlands, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, UAE, UK, USA and representatives of United Nations, the European Union, the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank and the World Bank.
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