Switzerland Pledges Further Pakistan Support

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Flooding in Pakistan has claimed 1.700 lives and left millions displaced. Keystone / Nadeem Khawar

Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has promised more support to help Pakistan recover from devastating floods.

This content was published on January 9, 2023 - 16:10 January 9, 2023 - 16:10 swissinfo.ch/mga

Speaking at a United Nations donor conference in Geneva on Monday, Cassis praised Pakistan's plans for reconstruction.

Cassis did not elaborate on the scale of continued Swiss support but said it would focus on accommodation for refugees. The Alpine state already pledged chf4 million ($4.3 million) in emergency aid in September, gave CHF200,000 to the aid organization Helvetas and sent out a humanitarian relief team to Pakistan.

In addition, the Swiss public donated CHF5 million in a national campaign.

More than 1,700 people died in Pakistan flooding last year and eight million have been displaced as homes, roads, farmland and bridges were destroyed.

The UN donor conference heard that many children are suffering malnourishment and disease while nine million people are threatened with extreme poverty.

“We must be honest about the brutal injustice of the great damage that climate change is causing to developing countries,” UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.

Pakistan says it needs $16 billion to build up flood defences against further devastation and can only raise half of these funds itself.

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