Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday underscored the need for Islamabad and Washington to share “ideas, expertise and technology” in the fight against climate change, said his office.

PM Imran took up the issue of climate change in a meeting with United States Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry on the sidelines of the Middle East Green Initiative (MGI) Summit in Riyadh.

The United States’ Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, @JohnKerry, called on Prime Minister @ImranKhanPTI in Riyadh, today, on the sidelines of the “Middle East Green Initiative (MGI)” Summit.#ClimateAction pic.twitter.com/QZi1n0B9AM

— Prime Minister's Office, Pakistan (@PakPMO) October 25, 2021

According to the PM Office, the premier underscored the “need to reinforce national as well as global emphasis” against climate change.

In the meeting, the PM shared his perspective on the challenges faced by Pakistan and other developing countries due to climate change. Pakistan’s experience of launching nature-based solutions to address the environmental challenges, including the 10 billion tree tsunami project, was also highlighted during the meeting.

Reviewing the ongoing collaboration between Pakistan and the United States on climate change and the environment, PM Imran expressed satisfaction on the recently held inaugural meeting of the US-Pakistan Climate and Environment Working Group.

“The PM underscored that Pakistan and the United States should continue sharing ideas, expertise and technology to optimize mutually beneficial opportunities in the fight against climate change,” said the PMO.

Meanwhile, Kerry agreed that Islamabad and Washington had a “longstanding relationship” that can be used to explore “areas of mutual convergence, including climate and environment”. He also “acknowledged various initiatives undertaken by Pakistan to fight climate change”.

“Emphasising the priority attached by the US Administration towards the issue of climate change, Special Envoy Kerry briefed the prime minister on various measures undertaken by the Biden Administration for developing a broad global consensus on climate action in the run-up to the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP-26), later this month,” said the PMO.

PM Imran urged Kerry to further explore possibilities of “enhanced bilateral engagement” via the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC). He added that the forum could be used to “support investment in climate mitigation, resilience, and adaptation in Pakistan and the developing world”.

The PM Of said that the US envoy acknowledged the huge potential in the areas and expressed the desire to further explore opportunities for bilateral cooperation.

During the meeting, it was also agreed that the two sides would “work in close coordination to determine next steps in building an effective framework of cooperation” on climate change and other areas.