New York: Pakistan is on the road to economic recovery thanks to stringent macroeconomic reforms, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar announced at the First Biennial Summit for a Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Global Economy in New York. The reforms have yielded a primary budget surplus, controlled inflation, lowered the debt-to-GDP proportion, and boosted domestic resource mobilization.

Dar emphasized the need for collective global solutions to address shared challenges, stating that no nation can tackle these economic difficulties in isolation. He advocated for a more equitable and inclusive economic system that benefits everyone.

Highlighting the climate injustice faced by developing nations, he noted that Pakistan contributes less than one percent to global emissions yet bears a disproportionate burden. He cited the 2022 floods, which inflicted over $30 billion in damages, and the recent devastation that has again submerged the country.

Reform of the global economic system is not optional but essential, the Deputy Prime Minister asserted, urging a shift towards a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient global financial structure. He pointed out that the current order has led to imbalances and vulnerabilities, a widening SDG financing gap, over 100 developing nations trapped in debt, and a worsening climate emergency.

While welcoming the commitments made under the “Compromiso de Sevilla,” Dar urged that pledges be translated into concrete actions.

He outlined six key areas for action: addressing the debt predicament through a multilateral sovereign debt instrument, restructuring international financial governance at the IMF and World Bank, increasing development funding including fulfilling ODA pledges and re-allocating unused SDRs, securing at least $300 billion annually in predictable, grant-based climate financing, overhauling the WTO to prioritize sustainable growth, and promoting a UN-led global taxation structure to combat illicit financial flows, profit shifting, and tax evasion.