(Washington) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday called on Pakistan to seek debt relief from its close partner China as the country struggles to recover from severe flooding.
Posted at 6:51 p.m.
Mr. Blinken said the United States would provide strong support to Pakistan, a third of whose territory has been submerged by water, an area equivalent to that of the United Kingdom.
“Our message is simple. We are present for Pakistan, just as we were during previous natural disasters, and we are planning for reconstruction, ”said the head of American diplomacy after a meeting in Washington with his Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.
“I also urged our colleagues to approach China on important issues of debt relief and restructuring so that Pakistan can recover faster from the floods,” he added.
China is a key economic and political partner of Pakistan, where a more than $54 billion “economic corridor” project aims to link western China to the Indian Ocean.
The United States, whose Cold War alliance with Pakistan is faltering, repeats that Beijing will reap the benefits while an unsustainable debt will fall on Islamabad – which has ignored these warnings.
Some 1,600 people lost their lives in the floods in Pakistan, which displaced 7 million and raised fears that such disasters could be repeated more frequently due to climate change.
The United States has pledged $56 million in humanitarian aid, chartered 17 supply planes and is considering longer-term support.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari meanwhile called on US President Joe Biden, who in August signed into law a law providing for historic investments against global warming, for more “climate justice”.
“It’s not just important that you ‘Build back better’ here,” he said in reference to a Joe Biden campaign slogan.
“This crisis in Pakistan offers us the opportunity to ‘build back better’ – greener, more climate-resilient – at home too. »
Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world, accounts for only 0.8% of greenhouse gas emissions.
Antony Blinken also called on Islamabad to maintain a “responsible relationship” with New Delhi.
Dialogue between Pakistan and India has been stalled since Indian strikes in February 2019 following a deadly attack attributed to Pakistan-backed fighters.
The American Secretary of State welcomed Monday evening, immediately after this meeting, the Indian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, with whom he will meet officially on Tuesday.
It is not expected that Messrs. Bhutto Zardari and Jaishankar meet in Washington.