Australian High Commissioner vows to strengthen partnership with Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD (APP): Australian High Commissioner Margaret Adamson has said that her country's assistance for the ongoing project of preparing 'State of Pakistan Cities Report' will help Pakistan's government effectively deal with the challenges of growing population in cities.
In an interview with Radio Pakistan, She said the Australian government-funded project is being implemented by the Ministry of Climate Change with the technical assistance of UN-Habitat.
She said that Pakistan and Australia have decades old friendship, which will get further strengthened with the cooperation in various development projects.
The Australian High Commissioner said that her country will continue providing assistance to Pakistan for development in various areas for the welfare of its people.
Margaret Adamson said Pakistan is a rapidly growing country, and it requires credible data for catering the needs of the fast increasing population, and its migration to the cities.
She said migration to cities is a global phenomenon. However, estimates suggest that by 2030, 40 percent Pakistanis will be living in cities.
She emphasized taking all the stakeholders, including civil society, non-governmental organizations, and the business community on board for tackling the population influx towards the urban areas.
Speaking in the programme, UN-Habitat Country Programme Manager and Representative Pakistan Bella Evidente said the rapid urban expansion needs to be given due attention.
She said the planning ministry in Pakistan needs to engage with the relevant provincial departments to deal with the issue because urbanization has become a provincial subject after the 18th amendment.
Bella Evidente said the international community should come forward to help Pakistan not only financially, but also technically on the issue.
To a question, she said small cities will equally benefit from China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
