madam president as has been said what is happening in pakistan at the moment is a real tragedy and will require long-term commitment on behalf of the people of pakistan and its democratically-elected government for some time to come
i very much welcome the commissioner's response and indeed her longer-term perspective not least the link to climate resilience
i share the concerns she has voiced about long-term funding for such disasters
i think we would all urge the international community to intensify its response
we would certainly like to welcome india's increased contribution to the un fund because that sends an important political signal
in our view the international community could go further
it could release more of pakistan's own money by taking action to relieve pakistan's international debt much of which was incurred under military regimes
in two thousand and eight pakistan spent usd three billion on debt repayment this dwarfs the international aid effort
france and germany are important bilateral donors
i think we should look with some concern at the repayment terms that may be on offer for the loans that are currently being put forward
i would also like to mention that i think it is important to have a similar response from within pakistan not least from rich landowners who could for example offer some sort of rent relief for poor tenant farmers who are not going to be able to pay their rent for some time to come
