Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday addressed a special session of the World Economic Forum annual meeting, which is taking place in Davos, Switzerland.
The premier began his speech by talking about his government’s tree plantation campaign, which he said was expanded across the country after seeing its success in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said the government aims to plant 10 billion trees in the next four years to deal with the consequences of climate change.
Prime Minister Imran said forestation was crucial because not only is Pakistan vulnerable to global warming but because pollution has become a “silent killer” in cities across the country.
“Pakistan cannot grow its economy without peace and stability,” the premier said, referring to armed militias and previous conflicts.
“We have gone through a very tough economic period and people are hurting,” he said. “Now we hope to return to growth.”
He said one of the advantages in Pakistan is its youthful population but regretted that “we have neglected this young population because we have not equipped them to become entrepreneurs.” He noted that the government has now has started a programme for skills development.
