Pakistan has announced a contribution of $25,000 to the UN Secretary General’s Peacebuilding Fund, expressing commitment to multilateral cooperation for peace and conflict prevention.
Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, in his virtual address to the High-Level Replenishment Conference for the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund late Tuesday, said Pakistan would continue to play an active role in peacekeeping and peace-building. “The pledge underscores Pakistan’s longstanding political, human and financial commitment to UN’s endeavors in peacekeeping and peace building,” Qureshi said.
The minister said, “Today’s event provides a welcome opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to multilateral cooperation for preserving peace, preventing conflict and realizing the Sustainable Development Goals.”
Pakistan, he said, like most developing countries had been severely affected by COVID-19 pandemic and was forced to stretch its healthcare systems, contract the economy and constrict its fiscal space.
He said the pledge for contribution despite the ongoing financial difficulties was in fact Pakistan’s commitment towards peace.
Qureshi stressed that ‘national ownership’ must remain the core principle of peace building and determine all decisions of the fund. He said durable peace within nations could not be externally imposed.
As a major Troop and Police Contributing Country, he said, Pakistan takes pride in its rich UN peacekeeping history. “Over the last 60 years, our peacekeepers have represented the blue flag in 46 UN Missions across four continents of the world,” he said
Qureshi welcomed the UN Secretary General’s Peacebuilding Fund Strategy 2020-2024, which focuses on the imperative of conflict prevention.
