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Pakistan envoy calls for stronger climate alliance with Tanzania
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Siraj Ahmad Khan. PHOT | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Siraj Ahmad Khan, has urged urgent, coordinated action to combat climate change, highlighting that both Tanzania and Pakistan face severe environmental threats and require global collaboration to preserve forests, water resources, and overall climate resilienc
Dar es Salaam. Urgent and coordinated action is needed from both developed and developing nations to mitigate the environmental impacts of climate change, which continue to threaten ecosystems worldwide.
Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Tanzania, Siraj Ahmad Khan, said many African countries, including Tanzania, are among the worst affected by the climate crisis.
“Pakistan itself is one of the hardest-hit countries when it comes to climate change. Almost every year, we are struck by devastating floods, and their intensity keeps increasing. In this regard, Pakistan’s situation is similar to Tanzania’s—we too are victims of climate change,” he said.
Speaking during the commemoration of Pakistan’s 79th Independence Day, Mr Khan observed that although Tanzania still has vast areas of forest cover, these are shrinking at an alarming rate.
“Forestation is one critical area where urgent action is needed. Preserving trees, water bodies and other natural resources requires collective responsibility not only from Tanzania, but also through collaboration with developed countries,” he added.
He noted that no single nation can confront the climate crisis alone.
“Pakistan cannot address this challenge in isolation. We hope developed countries will extend greater support to developing nations such as Tanzania and Pakistan in strengthening climate resilience and environmental conservation.”
Reports show that Tanzania continues to experience rising temperatures, erratic rainfall patterns, prolonged droughts and worsening deforestation, which undermine biodiversity, food security and livelihoods.
Environmental degradation, driven by illegal logging and the expansion of farmland, has further increased the country’s vulnerability to climate shocks.
Highlighting opportunities for partnership, Mr Khan said Pakistan and Tanzania are already cooperating in several areas.
“We recently signed an agreement on water management, which is one area where we can expand cooperation further,” he said.
He added that Pakistan is also keen to collaborate in agriculture, ICT and pharmaceuticals.
“Last year we began exporting mobile phones, which shows how broad our cooperation can be,” he noted.
According to him, the two countries are also strengthening ties in trade, investment, education, capacity building, defence and regional security.
“There are many areas where Pakistan and Tanzania can work together for mutual benefit. However, when it comes to climate change, the most urgent task is to preserve forests and strengthen collective action to protect our environment,” he said.
