NEW YORK: Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif has reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for China’s Global Development Initiative (GDI), calling it an important platform for strengthening solidarity, advancing South-South cooperation and delivering practical benefits to developing countries.

Speaking at a high-level GDI meeting hosted by Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Sharif praised the initiative as a timely response to mounting global development challenges.

He recalled that Chinese President Xi Jinping launched the GDI three years ago during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying its relevance had grown as developing countries faced mounting economic, climate and development pressures.

Sharif said progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals remained inadequate, with developing countries confronting a widening financing gap, increasingly severe climate-related disasters, rising food and fuel prices and heightened geopolitical tensions.

He called for stronger multilateral cooperation to address these challenges and said the GDI had already translated into practical projects and benefits across the developing world.

The prime minister said the objectives of the GDI were also aligned with Pakistan’s national economic transformation agenda.

Pakistan, he added, would seek to expand cooperation under the initiative by scaling up successful projects and identifying new areas of collaboration.

Sharif also highlighted Pakistan’s continued partnership with China under the Belt and Road Initiative and its flagship China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is entering its second phase.

As the 2030 deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals approaches, Pakistan is prepared to deepen cooperation with China and other GDI partners, he said.

Sharif further called for a more representative global governance system that better reflects the priorities of developing countries. He said UN reform efforts should strengthen the organization’s development role and its ability to deliver tangible results.

“Pakistan has been and will remain a firm supporter of all these very important initiatives,” he said.

The prime minister also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to working closely with China and other members of the Group of Friends of the GDI to advance what he described as a shared vision for a community with a shared future for humanity.