CM, US diplomat discuss climate change, social uplift, economy

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Elizabeth Horst, principal deputy assistant secretary and deputy assistant secretary for Pakistan, US Department of State, met at the CM House on Wednesday and discussed areas of mutual interest, including climate change, social uplift and the economy.

Discussing climate change, Shah said the province suffered significantly in 2022, when heavy rains and floods destroyed over 2.1 million houses. He said that with the assistance of donor agencies and a contribution of Rs57 billion from the provincial government, along with a matching grant from the federal government, the construction of damaged houses has commenced, and 800,000 climate-resilient houses have been built.

He also said his government is seeking donor agencies to provide water, sanitation and hygiene facilities for the houses. “We are also planning to provide them with solar power, for which financial assistance is required.”

The visiting diplomat discussed Karachi being a port city with ample opportunities for investment and development. The CM told her that with the World Bank-funded Competitive & Livable City of Karachi project, efforts have been started to improve the liveability and competitiveness of the city by enhancing institutional performance and supporting activities for private sector investment. The main objective, he said, is to enhance efficiencies in Sindh’s business regulatory environment.

He said his government has started diverting a major portion of the annual budget towards the development of the education sector. He mentioned that his government has made tangible improvements in the health sector, saying that there is still a need to achieve the desired results in education. The US diplomat emphasised the importance of modernising the agriculture sector to transform lives in rural areas. Shah affirmed Sindh’s commitment to this goal, mentioning the province’s work on promoting low-deltaic, high-yield crop varieties.