Minister for Petroleum and Water Resources Musadik Masood Malik on Thursday said Pakistan was heading towards the right direction as it had successfully controlled inflation, achieved substantial growth in agriculture sector and witnessed an increase in foreign reserves.

He was speaking at the concluding plenary of the four-day Sustainable Development Conference organised by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI). Mr Malik said the current government had three key priorities, and they were decreasing inflation, ensuring better public life and reducing poverty.

Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam said collaboration between the SDPI and climate change ministry had forged new synergies, with the intention to drive well-informed policy discourse. She said Pakistan was committed to bringing resilience at the community level against adverse impacts of climate change. At the upcoming COP29, Pakistan will passionately be advocating for climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building of vulnerable communities, she said. Ms Alam said that she would be sharing recommendations from this conference at COP29.

Company Secretary at United Energy Pakistan (UEP) Tanveer Afzal Mirza said despite political and economic challenges, the private sector had demonstrated a willingness to invest, particularly in the wind energy sector, which had attracted nearly $3 billion in investments.