ISLAMABAD   -  The embassy of the Federal Dem­ocratic Republic Ethiopia (FDRE) and Sustainable Development Pol­icy Institute (SDPI) have agreed to forge a mutual collaboration to jointly organise ‘Green Legacy Fo­rum’ to create awareness and mo­bilise all segments of society for massive plantation of fruits and vegetables, which will not only re­store eco-system but also ensure food security and sustainable de­velopment. 

The collaboration was agreed upon during a meeting between Special Envoy & Ambassador Ex­traordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia to Pakistan, Jemal Beker Abdula and Dr Abid Qaiyum Sul­eri, Executive Director, SDPI here at the Embassy of Ethiopia.

The forum will have participa­tion of parliamentarians, diplo­matic and business community, environmentalists, religious and media fraternity, youth and civil society. It is aimed at sharing suc­cess story of Ethiopia with Paki­stan in environmental conserva­tion, ecosystem restoration and food security under the Green Leg­acy initiative of Dr Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

Speaking on the occasion, Am­bassador Jemal Beker lauded the services and capabilities of the SDPI as the premier independent think tank of Pakistan with its core capabilities in niche areas of eco­nomics, climate change, food secu­rity, human rights, health and so­cial protection.

He underlined the importance of the Green Legacy Initiative which is the flagship project of the gov­ernment of Ethiopia with the high­est-level political leadership and public endorsement that has set an ambitious target of 7.5 billion seedlings to be planted across the country in 2024. 

The ambassador said since 2019, Ethiopia had planted more than 40 billion seedlings of vegetables, fruits and animal feed which had increased its capacity to address climate related challenges and re­duced poverty, boosted job crea­tion, and ensured food security.

He underscored the need to rollout massive nationwide cam­paign in Pakistan to address the growing vulnerability of its mass­es against climate change as 2022 floods’ devastation left its commu­nities bareheaded under the risks and devastation of unprecedented scale. 

“I have personally witnessed the flood-impacted areas across the country that allowed me to assess the toll paid by masses despite their minimal contribu­tion towards global warming and environmental degradation,” he added.

It is high time for all segments of Pakistani society to join hands to save the planet earth, he said, reit­erating his resolve to work closely with them to take green initiatives for Pakistan. 

On the occasion, Executive Di­rector, SDPI, Dr Abid Qaiyum Sul­eri informed Ambassador Jemal Beker that the Institute used to hold an annual development and economic forum that convenes global, regional and local experts and dignitaries to share their val­uable insights on critical global is­sue causing grassroots level im­pacts across the regions. 

He suggested the ambassador to forge a bilateral collaboration to host a high-level plenary at the forum that will not only help en­gage relevant key stakeholders but also the international experts that could help in spreading the word on promoting Green Legacy and Climate Action.

Dr Suleri who is also the mem­ber to the Advisory Committee of COP29 presidency in Baku in­formed the ambassador that the SDPI will convene an internation­al jurists plenary at COP29 under the title Green Justice to initiate dialogue among top-level judici­ary of the developed and develop­ing countries to build consensus on Climate Justice.

He extended full support of the institute to the embassy to engage state-level dignitaries to partici­pate in that plenary.