ISLAMABAD, Apr 28  :  Prime Minister Imran Khan and Bill Gates, Co-Chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Wednesday discussed matters including COVID-19 response, polio eradication and climate change and agreed to continue working together on the shared objectives.

In a telephonic conversation, both agreed on the importance of urgently stopping the spread of coronavirus, polio and other vaccine-preventable diseases in Pakistan.

The Prime Minister expressed appreciation for the work of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for fighting poverty, combating COVID-19 pandemic and inequalities around the world.

Recalling his recent letter addressed to Bill Gates on climate change, the Prime Minister apprised him about Pakistan’s flagship initiatives including the 10 Billion Tree Tsunami.

Commending the Gates Foundation’s strong advocacy to promote equitable access to COVID-19 vaccine, the prime minister underscored the importance of equitable, timely, and scaled delivery doses to low-income countries.

Imran Khan also reaffirmed that eradication of polio remained a key priority of the government and efforts were underway to intensify the anti-polio campaign across the country despite COVID-19 related challenges.

He affirmed his commitment to strengthening efforts nationwide to achieve a polio-free Pakistan.

Bill Gates acknowledged Pakistan’s commitment to address climate change and agreed that the world must come together to face this global challenge.

Highlighting that food systems are particularly vulnerable to climate change, he emphasized that the global leaders should prioritize investments in agricultural research for adaptation. He also suggested Prime Minister Khan to leverage Pakistan’s unique voice to raise awareness for increasing global support for smallholder farmers.

Pakistan has a robust partnership with the Gates Foundation, including, inter alia, Gates Foundation’s continued support to the Ehsaas Programme, which helps the most vulnerable segment of Pakistan’s population.

BEIJING, April 28 : Faisalabad and Qingdao, China signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to develop a sister city relationship between the two cities. 

According to a Gwadar Pro’s report, the signing was conducted by Pakistani Ambassador Moin ul Haque and Mr. Zhao Haozhi, Mayor of Qingdao.

The LOI was signed as a part of festivities to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China, which is being celebrated this year.

The signing ceremony was held during the ‘2021-SCO International Trade and Investment Forum’ in Qingdao. It was witnessed by Mr. Liu Jiayi, Party Secretary of Shandong CPC Committee, Mr. Le Yucheng,Vice Foreign Minister of China. Ambassadors and the representatives of many countries attended the event.

Qingdao is one of the most important cities in Northern China. It is located in Shandong province alongside the East China Sea. The city has rapidly risen as a hub for regional economy and trade. 

It is the host to many Shanghai Cooperation Organization institutions and the city organized the SCO Summit in 2018. Many local companies of Qingdao are operating in Pakistan in electronics, agriculture, and service sectors.

The development of a sister-city relationship between Faislabad and Qingdao is aimed to building upon the natural affinities between the two cities and deepening bilateral relations in diverse areas of cooperation. 

As major hubs for regional economic and trade in their respective regions, the sister city ties seek to enhance the existing cooperation between Faisalabad and Qingdao, and to explore more avenues by expanding two-way investment, trade, tourism, and education linkages.

BEIJING, April 28  : Pakistani and Chinese scholars deliberate upon ecological issues plaguing the world today, Gwadar Pro reported on Wednesday.

The report says, a written proposal was released on a World Earth Day themed forum anchored by the Communications University of China (CUC), where Pakistani and Chinese scholars exchanged their opinions on ecological issues.

The proposal, centered around green, healthy, and sustainable development, calls for augmented awareness of a community with shared future in international academia.

 Academic Network for a Community with Shared Future, sponsor of the forum, pledges unsparing efforts in promoting dialogue among civilisations and contributing to sustainable development through joint efforts.

Pakistani representative Ms. Maryam Raza delivered a speech on “Working Together to Tackle Environmental Challenges in pursuit of Clean, Green and Resilient World”.

Noting the repercussions of non-traditional security threats on nations, she stressed the wide range of existing non-traditional security threats emanating from social, economic, and environmental risks.

Melting of glaciers, rising temperature, climate change, carbon emission, pollution, pandemics, and other wide range of environmental threats are occurring more frequently than ever. To deal with these issues, a global network is needed to apply integrated approaches.

She also highlighted new perspectives to analyze the particular discourse. As we are undergoing changes in world order, sustainable policies are required to tackle environmental challenges in modern times.

In this aspect, constructive engagement would benefit all parties involved in the pursuit of a clean, green, and resilient world.

Li Huailiang, Dean of the CUC Institute for a Community with Shared Future, proposed suggestions on global environment governance on two fronts.

First, countries should adopt a broader vision and strive for win-win benefits on the basis of mutual respect and shared responsibility. Secondly, nations should strike a balance between environmental sustainability and economic pursuit.

Instant economic reward should not be the sole guide to action. Rather, only sustainable approaches can bring long-term prosperity.

Following the forum, specific multilateral approaches to tackle global challenges including climate change were further discussed. Technology-informed trans-institutional solutions were recommended for consolidated financial and human resource capabilities. 

By establishing public-private partnership, stimulating quick-to-market knowledge transition, and promoting knowledge and data sharing, governments are enabled to make use of the existing technologies to meet the needs of the people and soften the impact of the environmental crisis on people’s lives.

For this purpose, the three “R” strategy, i.e., react in the short term, resolve in the midterm and reinvent in the long term could be a potential path.

It was proposed that stepping forward, a clean energy framework for cooperation should be established; new technologies should be co-created to flight climate change; and common grounds should be sought for common commitments.

Representatives of Tanzania, Ethiopia, Germany, Malaysia, and South Korea also participated in the online international forum.

DUBAI  , APRIL 28  : Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said in the remarks on Tuesday that the kingdom had no plans to introduce income tax and a decision last July to triple value-added tax to 15% was temporary.

The kingdom had tripled VAT to offset the impact of lower oil revenue on state finances in a move that had shocked citizens and businesses expecting more support from the government during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Raising VAT was a painful measure and I hate to hurt any Saudi citizen, but it is my duty to build Saudis a long-term sustainable future,” the prince said.

“Raising VAT to 15% is a temporary decision that will last one to five years and then it will go down to between 5% to 10%,” he said.

Prince Mohammed also said the kingdom aims to reduce unemployment to 11% this year. Unemployment among Saudi citizens fell to 12.6% in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 14.9% in the third quarter.

The government has been pushing through economic reforms since 2016 to create millions of jobs and reduce unemployment to 7% by 2030.

The plans were disrupted by the coronavirus crisis that sent oil prices plummeting last year.