Nice: The call was made by Pakistan’s Ambassador to France, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, at the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference underway in Nice, France.

According to Radio Pakistan, the Ambassador highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to address the challenge of degradation of marine resources and ecosystems, and expressed Pakistan’s intention to become a signatory to the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, commonly known as the BBNJ Agreement.

She emphasized the importance of international collaboration to conserve and sustainably use marine and coastal resources. The Ambassador called for scaling up financing, technology transfer, and capacity building to protect oceans.

She expressed Pakistan’s concern at the grave implications for the ecosystem of the Arabian Sea due to unilateral measures taken by one country in the neighborhood, which disrupt long-standing cooperative water-sharing agreements and arrangements.

The ambassador urged the international community to condemn these attempts to weaponize water and called for upholding international law and treaty obligations.