UN chief to pay 'solidarity' visit to flood-hit Pakistan next week
Pakistan
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will reach flood-battered Pakistan on September 9.
UNITED NATIONS (Dunya News) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will reach flood-battered Pakistan on September 9 to see for himself the "tragic situation facing millions of men, women and children" in the worst impacted areas of the country, his spokesman said Tuesday.
He is expected to arrive in Islamabad on Friday, 9 September. He will then travel to the areas that were most impacted by this unprecedented climate catastrophe.
The Secretary-General will meet with displaced families and will also witness how we are working, in collaboration with our humanitarian partners, to support the government’s relief efforts and provide assistance to millions of people.
Pakistan s UN Ambassador Munir Akram, who met the UN chief in New York, and Asim Iftikhar Ahmed, the Foreign Office spokesman, welcomed the UN chief s move, saying they look forward to his visit which begins with his arrival in Islamabad on Friday, September 9.
Guterres is so far the first world leader to announce such a trip to show solidarity with Pakistan where the worst-ever floods have killed more than 1,000 people and displaced some 43 million.
Through its National Disaster Management Authority, the Pakistani Government – which has declared a national emergency – is leading the response in coordinating assessments and directing humanitarian relief to affected people.
Spokesman Stephane Dujarric told the regular noon briefing that the secretary-general, who earlier said, “Pakistan is awash in suffering,” will travel to the areas most impacted by this unprecedented climate catastrophe.
"The Secretary-General will meet with displaced families that will also witness how we are working in collaboration with our humanitarian partners to support the government s relief efforts and provide assistance to millions of people," the spokesman added.
The UN chief will be back in New York on September 11.
