Minister of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage of Srilanka Abdul Rauff Hibbathul Hakim held a meeting with Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan to discuss opportunities for mutual cooperation on water and climate change. The bilateral meeting was convened on the side lines of Seventh South Asian Conference on Sanitation being organized in Islamabad. Over 700 international and national delegations from eight South Asian countries are attending the Conference. Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan welcomed the honourable Minister and said both countries have deep friendship. Federal Minister for Climate Change briefed him about overall working of Ministry of Climate Change in Pakistan and told the delegation that we have a separate ministry working on water issues. He further added that we have made remarkable achievements in water conservation. We are building new dams to save water from melting glaciers and Bhasha and Dasu Dam are two significant names. He also talked about China’s flood plain system for effective water management. He further added that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are two countries having least contribution in global carbon emissions but facing many negative impacts of climate change. We should collaborate to advance our common interests at international forums on climate change issues. He also floated the idea of organizing “Green Climate Match” between the teams of Pakistan and Srilanka for public awareness. He said it would help to create mass awareness, as cricket is popular in both countries. Minister of Urban Development, Water Supply and Drainage of Sri Lanka Abdul Rauff Hibbathul Hakim thanked the government of Pakistan for the hospitality and appreciated that Pakistan has a separate ministry working on climate change issues. He also talked about some recent natural disasters including floods in Pakistan due to climatic change. He also mentioned that they would like to learn from Pakistan’s expertise with regard to disaster management. He also appreciated the idea of organizing “Green Match” between teams of India and Pakistan for public awareness. He ensured to talk to their cricket board to organize this match. Mr. Hibbathul also proposed signing of MoU between both the countries for mutual cooperation in the areas of environment and climate change. The meeting ended with vote of thanks from both sides.
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