ISLAMABAD: Australian High Commissioner to Pakistan Margaret Adamson Wednesday said that Australia has been supporting Pakistan’s water resource and agricultural development objectives since the 1980s.
She said this on a discussion on effective water management for agriculture in Indus basin, organised by the Australian Government and the Asia Foundation Pakistan, in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Pakistan.
She highlighted that cooperation in water management is a significant and increasing dimension of the Pakistan-Australia bilateral relationship.
“The Australian government’s work on water management provides opportunities for facilitating knowledge exchange between our countries in this vitally important sector,” High Commissioner Adamson said.
Ministry of Climate Change Secretary Khizar Hayat Khan iterated the seriousness of the Pakistan government on the water issue. With the support of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the government is addressing the challenge of receding glaciers and the Ministry of Climate Change endorses such collaborations which can further the agenda of the GCF, he added.
Australian scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), key government officials from the Ministry of Water and Power, Ministry of Climate Change, Planning Commission of Pakistan, provincial governments’ irrigation and agricultural departments, researchers and academicians participated in the discussion.
The event was part of the Australian government’s water programme in Pakistan in partnership with the Pakistan government. It encourages technical experts and civil society to campaign for effective water resource management.
The event invited Pakistan’s policymakers, civil society representatives and farmers to discuss the ecological, political and economic factors that govern the use of water in the region.