Islamabad, Feb. 2 (UNI) Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan received an unprecedented response from a donor conference in Geneva for the reconstruction of flood-hit areas.

Iqbal made the remarks on Wednesday at the first meeting of the Policy and Strategy Committee on the Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework (4RF), the planning ministry said in a statement.

Now the time has come to implement the decisions of the International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan held in Geneva on Jan. 9 in letter and spirit without any delay, he said.

The committee finalized the terms of reference under which it would examine and approve 4RF's policies, plans, strategies and standards, and would ensure a fast-track approval of projects under 4RF, the statement said.
It was noted that the 4RF would be materialized in three phases including short-term up to one year, medium-term up to three years, and long-term up to a five to seven years' period, it added.

The 4RF document suggested effective coordination and participation arrangement among federal and provincial governments, development partners, donors, international and nationals non-governmental organizations, academia and the private sector, according to the statement.

The devastating floods in Pakistan last year have killed over 1,700 people and inflicted damage and losses of over 30 billion U.S. dollars to the South Asian country.
UNI XINHUA RKM