UNITED NATIONS: Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar will address the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Sept 22 and will highlight the need to help developing nations achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set by the United Nations.

The prime minister is expected in New York on Sept 18, will address the General Assembly on Sept 22 and he will leave for home on Sept 23.

At a news briefing in New York on Wednesday, Pakistan’s UN envoy Mu­nir Akram said PM Kakar will also participate in an SDG summit during his visit to the UN headquarters.

The United Nations will convene the SDG summit in New York on Sept 18-19, during the General Assem­bly high-level week.

“The prime minister will be speaking about the mobilisation of finance for SDGs,” Ambassador Ak­ram said. “The main thing, of course, will be his address to the General Assembly, which will be an annual policy statement.”

The prime minister will also make a keynote at another summit on financing for development where “he will talk about how to mobilise private sector finance for development,” the Pakistani envoy said.

Mr Kakar is also expected to underline Pak­istan’s efforts to achieve SDGs in his address to the General Assembly.

In a recent statement, UN Secretary-General Ant­ónio Guterres remin­ded the international community that the annual SDG funding gap has risen from $2.5 trillion before the pandemic to an estimated $4.2tr now.

In a tweet, Mr Guterres warned the world leaders attending the 78th UNGA that this was “not a time for posturing or positioning or for indifference or indecision. This is a time to come together for real, practical solutions.”

Published in Dawn, September 14th, 2023