Bilawal, Gen Bajwa thank US for assistance offered by US to Pakistan after floods

• Foreign minister and army chief thank US in their separate meetings with State Department Counselor Derek H Chollet.
• Army chief emphasises that assistance from Pakistan’s global partners will be vital in relief and rehabilitation of flood victims.
• Bilawal says unfortunate that Pakistan suffers severity of climate change even though it contributes less than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions.

RAWALPINDI: Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa on Thursday thanked the United States for the assistance offered by Washington to Pakistan after the recent floods in the country.

The minister and the army chief thanked the US in their separate meetings with State Department Counselor Derek H Chollet.

In his meeting with the army chief, both the officials discussed “matters of mutual interests, regional security situation and bilateral cooperation in various fields”.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) quoted the army chief as saying that Pakistan wants to maintain “bilateral engagement and multi-domain enduring relationship with the United States”. Both sides also agreed upon enhancing defence and security cooperation.

Read more: COAS, US CENTCOM reiterate desire to enhance bilateral relations

On the other hand, the visiting officials expressed their grief over the devastation caused by ongoing floods in Pakistan and offered sincere condolence to the families of the victims. They also offered USA’s support to the people of Pakistan in this hour of need. The dignitaries also appreciated Pakistan’s efforts for regional stability and also pledged to play their role in enhancing cooperation with Pakistan at all levels.

The military’s media wing said that the army chief thanked for Washington for its “support” and emphasised that assistance from Pakistan’s global partners will be vital in the relief and rehabilitation of the flood victims.

Bilawal briefs US delegation on impact of floods

On the other hand, Foreign Minister Bilawal, while thanking the counsellor for his visit, appreciated the strong expression of support and solidarity by the US government.

Pakistan’s top diplomat informed the US official of the devastation caused by the recent floods.

“At present, the government is fully engaged in the immediate rescue and relief efforts to save lives. At the same time, the long-term impacts on food security, health, and the economy are a matter of serious concern. Rehabilitation of the millions impacted, reconstruction, rebuilding communities and addressing the economic repercussions would require enormous resources,” Bilawal told the US official.

Read more: Bilawal, Blinken reaffirm further strengthening of bilateral ties

The foreign minister added that it was unfortunate that although Pakistan contributed less than 1% of greenhouse gas emissions, it suffered the severity of climate change. He thanked the US government for $31.1 million in relief assistance and also underscored the need for the international community to step up their ambition in climate financing towards mitigation, adaptation, and resilience, especially in developing countries.

On the other hand, Counselor Chollet underlined that the US was committed to supporting Pakistan in its efforts to deal with the devastation caused by the floods.

As per the Foreign Office, Counselor Chollet is in Pakistan with an inter-agency delegation to Pakistan from September 7-9, to reaffirm US support to Pakistan in the wake of catastrophic flooding and reinforce the broad-based and enduring Pakistan-US relationship.