Mr President, Excellencies, Ladies & Gentlemen,

On behalf of my Government and the delegation of Pakistan, I have the great pleasure to congratulate Mr. Kanayo Nwanze on his re-election as the President of IFAD. Mr. Nwanze was our candidate as he was from Nigeria,  Africa. It is a measure of his dynamic leadership that President Nwanze was elected un-opposed.  His election bodes well for continuity and decisive leadership which is the need of the time today, when the world is grappling with issues of food insecurity.

We also welcome Nauru, Tuvalu and Vanuatu to IFAD.

Global economic uncertainty coupled with natural disasters in many parts of the world have brought back  issues of food security and agriculture development on the top of the global agenda. The world is in search of viable solutions- solutions that IFAD can contribute to.

IFAD, today, is an important global forum and provides mechanisms, for discussions relating to rural development and agricultural policy issues, food and nutrition security, and for support to small scale agriculture. It continues to assist in increasing the levels of awareness about why investment in agriculture and rural development is crucial to reducing poverty and improving food security. IFAD’s efforts have gone a long way in addressing issues relating to poverty reduction.

IFAD’s achievements include comprehensive reform that has transformed IFAD into an agile organization generating efficiencies and savings, and attracting more financial resources. The successful negotiation of IFAD 9 Replenishment where the pledges were about 25% above the 8th Replenishment; the increase in the amount of co-financing; the expansion of IFAD country presence, and improvement in disbursements over the past many years, are notable accomplishments of IFAD.

IFAD is an important partner for Pakistan in our efforts at rural development and assuring food security and alleviating poverty. We recently signed a project targeting poor rural households, women, small scale landowners and tenants, and small scale fishermen in Baluchistan. IFAD has similar projects in other parts of Pakistan, underscoring partnerships that bring benefits to the people of Pakistan, especially in the rural areas. 

Finally, there are numerous challenges ahead for  IFAD, particularly the huge investment gap in developing country  agriculture. IFAD will have to explore new sources of investment in rural development, including new forms of financing. This is where an innovative and visionary approach is needed to respond to the needs of over a billion people who suffer from food insecurity.

As a member of the Rome Gender Network, I take this opportunity to ask for more focus by IFAD, on increasing women presence at  all levels.

The President’s efforts  in this regard are welcome.

Thank you.