[:en]ISLAMABAD (Our Correspondent) – President Asif Ali Zardari has reiterated Pakistan’s commitment to conserving its marine ecosystems and coastal areas by addressing challenges such as sea pollution and climate change. He said that maritime pollution was a major concern for Pakistan as it was negatively affecting aquatic life, causing a decline in the growth of the country’s fisheries sector.
The President expressed these views while talking to the visiting Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Mr Arsenio Antonio Dominguez Velasco, who called on him, at Aiwan-e-Sadr, on Thursday. Minister for Maritime Affairs, Mr Qaiser Ahmad Sheikh, Chairperson Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Senator Sherry Rehman, and senior government officials attended the meeting.
Welcoming the Secretary-General, the President said that focusing on the blue economy was a cornerstone of Pakistan’s development strategy as Pakistan was keen on modernizing its fisheries and shipbreaking sectors under the Special Investment Facilitation Council. He added that Pakistan was taking effective steps to tackle the effects of climate change. He said that Pakistan wanted to improve its marine ecosystem and would welcome IMO’s assistance and expertise in this regard. In order to mitigate the impacts of climate change, he highlighted that Pakistan had planted mangroves over a million acres in Sindh and also sold carbon credits in the international market. He informed that plans were afoot to plant mangroves on another 2 million acres of land.
The President also highlighted Pakistan’s strong commitment to adhering to IMO regulations and standards for maritime safety, security and environmental protection. He said that Pakistan was looking forward to exploring potential areas for future collaboration with IMO, including technical cooperation and expertise-sharing to improve Pakistan’s maritime sector.
The Secretary-General said that Pakistan had great maritime potential, adding that IMO would continue to support Pakistan in advancing collaborations and promoting a sustainable and efficient maritime industry.
The President congratulated the Secretary-General on his election as the 10th Secretary General of IMO and expressed confidence in his leadership to advance the organization’s mission for a fair and effective regulatory framework for the global shipping industry.[:]