Islamabad March 31 2023: Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq, chaired the first meeting of the International Partners Support Group (IPSG) in Prime Minister Office, Islamabad, yesterday to facilitate coordinated implementation of the 4RF.
The meeting was attended by a large number of bilateral and multilateral development partners, and senior diplomats, including Ambassadors, of USA, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Europe Union (EU), Australia, China, France, the Netherlands, UK, Canada, Russia, Italy, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Turkey, Republic of Korea and Japan. United Nations Resident Coordinator, Resident Representatives of UNDP Pakistan, country heads and representatives from UNICEF, Asian Development Bank, World Bank, IMF, USAID, FCDO, Islamic Development Bank and Italian Cooperation Agency also attended the first meeting of the IPSG.
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Finance and Revenue, Secretary, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Secretaries Ministries of Finance and Planning Development & Special Initiatives were also present in the meeting.
Goal of preparing the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework (4RF) is to ensure that transformational measures are put into place to ensure resilient recovery, and to reduce the impact on developmental gains, so as not to hinder the progress of future generations. It also provides a foundation on which the country will build and strengthen long-term resilience to climate-induced disasters.
The 4RF document provides programmatic priorities, policy framework, institutional arrangements, financing strategy, and implementation arrangements for resilient recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction in the aftermath of the 2022 floods. From a humanitarian perspective, housing, agriculture, and livelihoods are identified as priority needs and urgent actions have been proposed to meet these needs. Needs are based on the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment already completed. Interventions worth USD 16.6 billion have been proposed and prioritized over short (1-year, medium (2-3 years) and long-term (4-7 years) horizons covering sectoral policy and operational reforms, investments/programs for recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction, and institutional effectiveness. Recovery interventions will be integrated and multi-sectoral.
Pakistan received commitments of USD 10.57 billion from international donors and friendly countries at Geneva earlier this year.
The Minister for Economic Affairs welcomed the distinguished participants and expressed gratitude for their continued support and commitment towards Climate Resilient Pakistan. He highlighted the purpose of constituting IPSG as a forum to facilitate coordinated implementation of the 4RF. The Minister, EAD, expressed hope that IPSG would be helpful in securing financial and other commitments for the implementation of climate resilient projects over the coming years. He appreciated the role of UNDP as the secretariat of IPSG.
Mr. Knut Ostby, Resident Representative UNDP Pakistan, highlighted that wide scale of destruction and human suffering caused by floods 2022 have reminded us of the urgency for collective action and solidarity to tackle the existential threat of Climate Change. He stressed that the recovery process ahead is not a one-time event but would require sustained efforts, collaboration, and commitment. He hoped that IPSG will provide sustained strategic direction to the recovery process.
Secretary, Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives and Chairman Planning & Development Board of Sindh made detailed presentations on the recovery and reconstruction efforts.
The Mission Director USAID and Representatives of UNICEF highlighted their work in Pakistan and emphasized the need of building back better by investing in the future with special focus on human development. UNICEF also highlighted the need for immediate action to deal with increasing cases of malnutrition among children in affected areas. The meeting proceeded with a detailed discussion session between the Government representatives and International Development Partners including the EU, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
The international development partners appreciated the setting up of the forum and the initiative of the government in line with the Geneva declaration. UN Resident Coordinator stressed that there is still urgent need for humanitarian assistance in flood affected areas of Sindh and Balochistan.
Secretary EAD assured the development partners of complete support to IPSG. He appreciated the fact that the IPSG was invaluable as a high-level coordination forum between the government and international development partners. It is pertinent to mention that Ministry of Economic Affairs notified IPSG on 17th March, 2023. It is a 41 members group comprising of Federal Ministries and International Development Partners. Minister for Economic Affairs is the convener of IPSG whereas UNDP Pakistan will provide secretariat support.
