ISLAMABAD: The Embassy of Ethiopia and Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on Friday forged collaboration to enhance green development, nature conservation and food security in Pakistan by promoting the Green Legacy Initiative of Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
The collaboration was announced at a seminar jointly organized by the Embassy of Ethiopia in Islamabad and the SDPI titled Ethio-Pakistan Fraternity Under the Green Legacy Initiative.
Romina Khurshid Alam, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Dr. Abid Qaiyum Sulehri, Executive Director of SDPI, government officials, civil society and media expressed views at the seminar.
Executive Director SDPI, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, in his opening remarks, said the Ethiopian Ambassador is launching the leading Green Legacy Initiative in Pakistan that changed the flora and fauna of Ethiopia and incurred great societal impacts.
He said the government of Ethiopia is sharing its success story with other developing nation facing climate issues to achieve resilience against environmental degradation.
Dr Suleri said that unprecedented erratic rains in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) unveiled the massive impacts of climate change that demanded the humanity to revert to the mother nature to explore nature-based solutions.
Addressing the Seminar, Ambassador of Ethiopia in Pakistan, Jemal Beker Abdula lauded the Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Climate Change for her efforts to mitigate adverse impacts of climate change.
Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr. Abiy Ahmed Introduced Green Legacy Initiative
He added that the Green Legacy Initiative is the brainchild of Dr. Abiy Ahmed, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia who came into power in 2018.
He said the PM injected various policy reforms that made Ethiopia peaceful, stable, prosperous, eco-friendly, resilient and greener. The program has been formally launched at the Embassy in Pakistan in 2023, he added.
The Ambassador went on to say that Ethiopia is aggressively taking up green development initiatives starting from its intended nationally determined contributions, halt on import of fossil fuel-based vehicles, net zero target by 2050.
Commenting on the Initiative, he said, it has different components of human-nature relationship, developing synergies and cooperation for one common goal, respect for humanity and political, economic, social and environmental wellbeing.
He was of the view that mass media mobilization, community ownership and leading role by the top leadership of Ethiopia, were among the reasons behind success of the program.
Prime Minister’s Coordinator for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Romina Khurshid Alam, addressing the seminar via telephone thanked Ambassador Jemal Beker Abdula for playing the role of a bridge between Pakistan, Ethiopia and Africa.
She said Pakistan is ready to cooperate with Ethiopia and work together to promote the Green Legacy Initiative.
She added, the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination is working on setting up International Green Parliamentarians’ Caucus and it needs support from Ethiopia in this regard.
At the end, the Executive Director, SDPI presented a memento and SDPI latest works to the Ambassador.
