Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has called for “aggressive financing” of nuclear energy projects to address the climate vulnerability of developing countries. He made these comments in a video message during the first Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels. He praised the summit as a positive development to discuss alternative energy for countries vulnerable to climate change. Dar noted that Pakistan already had a nuclear energy capacity of more than 3,500 megawatts and was building another nuclear power plant, Chashma C-5, in cooperation with China. He urged multilateral lenders to consider aggressive financing so that developing countries can also make use of nuclear energy.
In addition, Dar held meetings with several foreign ministers on the sidelines of the summit. He met with the UAE Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Almazrouel Suhail and discussed the potential of enhancing bilateral relations, particularly in the renewable energy and transport sectors. Dar also met with Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing and appreciated the strategic partnership between the two countries. They agreed to further advance and expand the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to strengthen cooperation in diverse fields.
The day before the summit, Dar met with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi. During the meeting, he called for international financial institutions and banks to support nuclear energy projects in developing countries to meet their energy needs and achieve zero emissions goals. Dar emphasized the importance of IAEA’s technical cooperation work and said that Pakistan desired to enhance the share of nuclear energy in the energy mix. Grossi appreciated Pakistan’s collaboration with the agency, adding that in Asia, Pakistan is playing a key role in sharing its experience and expertise with developing countries.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dar said that energy security stands high on global priorities for both developing and developed countries. He emphasized that nuclear energy offers a viable solution for the future, with immense power density, negligible carbon footprints, and no greenhouse emissions. Dar endorsed nuclear energy as one of the low-emission technologies in the recent COP-28 and wished to enhance cooperation on initiatives of DG IAEA, including ‘Atoms4NetZero’, ‘Atoms4Food’, ‘Rays of Hope,’ ‘Zodiac,’ ‘NUTEC Plastics,’ and ‘Marie Curie fellowships.’
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