China and South Korea have gifted thousands of tree saplings to Pakistan at two different ceremonies as both countries offered support and expertise for green initiatives in Pakistan.
At least 10,000 saplings of different fruit and non-fruit species would be planted in different parts of Pakistan under phase two of the Pakistan-Korea Friendship Forest Initiative to protect the environment and strengthen the livelihoods of the local communities. The launch ceremony of the initiative, held at the Korean Embassy on Thursday, was attended by Korean Ambassador to Pakistan Suh Sangpyo and Pakistan PM’s aide on climate change Malik Amin Aslam.
They kicked off the plantation by planting a pine tree sapling at the Embassy of Korea in Islamabad and pledged to work closely to boost Pakistan’s country’s climate resilience by supporting green initiatives such as the 10 billion tree programme. Pakistan-Korea friendship forest was inaugurated in Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in December 2019.
Support for green initiatives
“The Korean government looks at the largest afforestation programme of Pakistan government as an opportunity to help improve the country’s overall environmental conditions and enhance resilience against unfolding deleterious impacts of climate change on various socioeconomic sectors,” the Korean Ambassador said.
He offered the Korean government’s all-out support to help build up the capacity of the country’s various sectors to cope with negative impacts of climate change through the transfer of technical know-how, technology related to water, energy, agriculture and forestry sectors, the official statement said. Malik Amin thanked the ambassador for gifting the saplings which he said reflected the Republic of Korea’s recognition of the Clean Green Pakistan initiative by Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
China gifts 7,000 saplings to Pakistan
A day earlier, the Chinese government gifted 7,000 tree saplings to be planted along Pakistan’s national highways to combat high pollution levels. The saplings were gifted at a ceremony held at the Chinese embassy to mark 70 years of Pakistan-China friendship.
Chinese ambassador Nong Rong kicked off the plantation drive at the embassy and said that the Chinese government strongly support the Clean Green Pakistan vision and projects. PM’s aide Malik Amin Aslam thanked the Chinese government for supporting the green initiatives. he also appreciated Chinese President Xi Jinping’s announcement that China will not invest in any coal power projects abroad which is an “inspiring story of transition from coal to renewable solutions.”
Green corridor
The two countries are also keen to transform the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) into a green corridor implementing high-tech solutions that could cut emissions and help protect the environment.
