ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: United States and Pakistan are enjoying excellent bilateral relations and are working together to meet forthcoming challenges owing to climate change especially in the area of water, energy and food security.
Ambassador of United States (US), David Hale said this while addressing opening ceremony of a conference on “Water-Energy-Food Security Nexus” held here on Tuesday at National University of Science and Technology (NUST).
Federal Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal and Rector NUST Engineer Muhammad Asghar also spoke on the occasion and highlighted forthcoming challenges in the areas of Water, Energy and Food Security.
The conference was designed to bring together experts to discuss the impact of climate change, population growth, economic development and increased consumption of water, energy, and food security throughout the world, and to develop possible solutions to some of these issues.
Ambassador David Hale said, “Water, energy, and food: three basic components of life-complex processes are at work to bring us those essential elements, and demographics and climate change are straining those processes”.
“Together we need to generate new ideas, new partnerships, and innovative solutions to this challenge”, the Ambassador added.
The two-day conference brought together policy experts, scientists, and members of private sector businesses to discuss the links between water, energy and agriculture.
Participants of the conference also considered solutions on how to develop clear government policies and effective use of resources to ensure food, water and energy security.
The conference highlighted continued cooperation between both the nations in key areas of water, energy and food security discussed during the meeting of President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in October 2015, David Hale said.
The United States and Pakistan had a long history of energy cooperation and continued to work together to help attract private sector investments in natural gas and clean energy sources such as solar, wind, geo-thermal and hydro, the Ambassador added.
Both the nations pressed for an ambitious agreement on climate change at the Conference of Parties 21 in Paris in December, and continue to work together on such issues through the Clean Energy Partnership and the Strategic Dialogue, Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal said.
Rector of the University Engineer Asghar also highlighted the importance of the conference and said such events provide opportunity to experts for discussing the forthcoming challenge and their solutions.
“The importance of cooperation across borders to address global issues such as water and food security cannot be understated,” Engineer Asghar said.
“These are issues which cross borders and their solutions can benefit all people, regardless of where they live”, he said.
Source: APP
