The International Monetary Fund, whose delegation was meeting Pakistan’s finance minister on the sidelines of the conference, is yet to approve the release of the $1.1 billion originally disbursed in November last year. This has left Pakistan with enough foreign exchange reserves to cover only one month’s imports.
Expressing dismay at the inaction of global leaders and the meager investment to address climate emergencies, Guterres called for countries to be mindful of their vulnerability when major financial institutions disburse financing below market-rates.
“When decisions are made about concessional funding to countries around the world, we need to redesign our financial systems to take into account not only GDPs but also vulnerabilities,” he added.