The visiting Minister for States and Frontier Regions, Lieutenant General Abdul Qadir Baloch (R) on Wednesday addressed the High Level Leaders Roundtable convened by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on the theme of "Natural Disasters and climate change: Managing risks and crises differently."
The seven Roundtables of the Summit were aimed at obtaining practical commitments from member states and other humanitarian actors in the seven specific areas identified in the Secretary General's "Agenda for Humanity". Pakistan was one of the lead speakers in the Roundtable which was moderated by the UN Secretary General and Co-Chaired by the President of Nauru, Deputy President of Kenya and Deputy Prime Ministers of Ethiopia and Nepal.
Delivering national statement on behalf of Pakistan, Minister Abdul Qadir Baloch underlined that given its extreme vulnerability to large-scale recurring natural disasters, the Government of Pakistan had strengthened its indigenous response mechanisms to natural disasters and was progressively moving towards a proactive approach of Disaster Risk Management, capitalising on its own rich experiences as well as adopting best global practices. Outlining Pakistan's commitments in the area of managing natural disasters and climate change hazards, the Minister conveyed Pakistan's firm determination to support all global frameworks in managing risks and crises more effectively with a view to saving human lives and minimising damages to livelihood and local economies.