NEW YORK: President of the European Union (EU) Commission Ursula von der Leyen met Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on the sidelines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly in New York and announced “new humanitarian aid” in the coming weeks for flood-ravaged Pakistan.
The former German defence minister and current president of the EU commission expressed grief at the meeting over the devastation and fatalities brought on by the nation’s record flooding.
The EU Commission is on your side. After meeting with the PM, she tweeted, “We will present new humanitarian aid in the upcoming weeks to support the people of Pakistan.
Nearly 33 million of the country’s 220 million residents have been impacted by the torrential floods, which have damaged an already vulnerable infrastructure to the tune of over $40 billion.
According to the most recent data from the nation’s National Disaster Management Authority, the number of deaths caused by floods has increased to 1,569 since mid-June.
Additionally, US President Joe Biden received praise from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for bringing attention to Pakistan’s flood victims in his speech at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York.
The prime minister tweeted his appreciation to Biden for pushing the international community to act quickly to aid those affected by the disaster.
“Thank you President Joe Biden for highlighting the plight of the flood victims in Pakistan and urging the world for an immediate response, as my country is facing the ravages of unprecedented floods. The calls of stranded women & children for help need to be heeded to,” Shehbaz said in the tweet.
The prime minister is currently on a visit to the United States to represent Pakistan in the 77th session of the UNGA. Earlier, Biden made a fervent pitch for extending help to Pakistan where floods had caused huge devastation in his address to the UN General Assembly, as he announced over $2.9 billion in new assistance to address global food insecurity.
The US president was confronting no shortage of difficult issues as leaders gathered this year. The president addressed the 193-member assembly during its high-level debate when he dealt with the adverse impacts of climate change.
