Pakistan-Ethiopia fraternity park to be established in Islamabad next month

Celina Ali

Islamabad: The Governments of Pakistan and Ethiopia on Friday announced to establish a dedicated park in Islamabad next month to foster fraternity and brotherhood between the two countries under the ongoing bilateral cooperation in the area of climate change.

The announcement to this effect was made during a press briefing jointly addressed by Special Envoy and Ambassador of Ethiopia to Pakistan, Jemal Beker Abdula, Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change, Romina Khursheed Alam and Capital Development Authority (CDA) Chairman and Commissioner Islamabad Muhammad Ali Randhawa.

The joint press briefing was held at the Ethiopia Embassy Islamabad, which was followed by a tree plantation ceremony contributing to Ethiopia’s record-breaking initiative of planting millions seedlings in one day under the globally recognized Green Legacy Initiative of Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr. Abiy Ahmed.

Individuals from all walks of life including government officials, diplomatic community, academicians, religious and business fraternity, youth, civil society and media gathered at the Ethiopia Embassy and planted saplings of fruits, vegetables and other species under the Green Legacy Initiative.

Addressing the press briefing, Ambassador Jemal Beker Abdula expressed gratitude to the government and the people of Pakistan for contributing to millions of tree plantation initiative of the Government of Ethiopia.

The ambassador recalled the launch of Ethio-Pakistan Fraternity under the Green Legacy Initiative programme across Pakistan under which not only trees were planted across the country, but also Ethio-Pakistan Fraternity Parks and Enclaves have also been established.

“Climate Change is no more a buzzword rather it is a reality and for that matter we all have to join our forces to deal with the looming threat which is taking more lives than any other global crises,” said the ambassador while announcing the launch of the 2nd round of Ethio-Pakistan Fraternity under the Green Legacy Initiative programme in Pakistan.

He announced that a dedicated park for Ethiopia-Pakistan friendship was being established in Islamabad in collaboration with the Climate Change Ministry and the CDA. The Ethiopian Embassy would look after the park after its establishment, he added.

Coordinator the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khursheed said she and the Ambassador of Ethiopia initiated a collaboration in areas of climate change and sustainable development goals since 2022.

She recalled the launch of Ethio-Pakistan Fraternity Programme last year through a collaboration between her office and the Ethiopian Embassy under the Green Legacy Initiative of Prime Minister of Ethiopia Dr. Abiy Ahmed, which is a laudable initiative.

“This Green Legacy initiative stands as beacon of hope for the world,” she said, adding that Pakistan was looking forward to learn from the best practices of Ethiopia.

She said the Government of Pakistan was also scaling up the Green Pakistan programme which was launched under the leadership of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and received recognition globally.

The CDA chairman appreciated Ethiopia Ambassador Jemal Beker for his efforts to tackle climate change which needed collective efforts for being a global problem.

He said the CDA would collaborate with the Ethiopian Embassy Islamabad for promoting the green initiative. The chairman highlighted selfie with plant initiative launched by the CDA to mobilize the people for plantation.