Climate Politics
Pakistan Floods Require New Debt Talks, Foreign Minister Says
- Bilawal Bhutto Zardari renews call for urgent debt relief, aid
- Country hoping to build back in greener, climate-resilient way
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Pakistan’s foreign minister said his country will need to revisit an International Monetary Fund package signed in August given the huge financial toll from recent floods, and he warned the US against pushing his country to choose between China and the West.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, 34, told Bloomberg News on Wednesday that damage from the floods is expected to exceed $30 billion and his government will need fresh talks with the IMF on the $1.1 billion loan. He reiterated his country’s need for debt relief and warned of a looming food crisis caused by the widespread flooding as well as the war in Ukraine.