Hina Rabbani Khar leads Pakistan delegation to the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting

LONDON, Mar 17(SABAH): Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar led the Pakistan delegation to 22nd Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Minister Meeting (CFAMM) held on 15 March 2023 in London. She also represented Pakistan at the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey and the reception hosted by Secretary General Commonwealth at Buckingham Palace.

At the CFAMM, the Minister of State presented Pakistan’s perspective on global and regional developments and their implications for developing countries including Pakistan. She called on the Commonwealth to take the lead in developing a new fiscally responsible model for sustainable development that addresses the issues of existing debt burden.

Minister of State outlined the importance of international collaboration on climate change and availability of significant, additional and predictable financial resources for climate adaptation and mitigation. She also called for early operationalization of the ‘Loss and Damage Fund’ and associated arrangements.

The CFAMM endorsed, inter alia, the initiative by the Board of Governors to modernize the Commonwealth, with the establishment of three working groups on reforms; administration and programme; and finance. Pakistan in its capacity as Vice Chair of the Board of Governors would be leading the working group on administration and programme.

On the sidelines of Commonwealth events, the Minister of State met with UK Minister of State for Development Andrew Mitchell, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka M.U.M. Ali Sabry, Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs of Kenya Dr.  Alfred Mutua, Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Foreign Minister MP Robert Oliphant, and Secretary General Commonwealth Patricia Scotland.