Dubai, UAE, 8 October 2021 – The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the Government of Italy and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat co-organised a day-long event at Expo 2020 Dubai as an urgent call to action for sustainable and climate-resilient mountain development – highlighting best practices that include integrating disaster risk reduction measures into town planning and networking between and for mountain communities.

Reflecting on the criticality of such long-term partnerships to foster and scale innovative solutions, Massimo Baggi, Ambassador of Switzerland to the UAE and Bahrain said: “The Swiss Government is very happy to have joined forces with the Aga Khan Development Network for a long-established cooperation dedicated to improving the quality of life for people living in mountain settlements in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan.”

Khalid Khurshid, Chief Minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, highlighted both the urgency for action and the opportunity presented by Expo 2020 Dubai and COP26. Noting that although mountain people such as the communities of Gilgit-Baltistan contribute faintly to climate change, they bear the brunt of its impact and are already engaged in ambitious efforts to combat it such as the Prime Minister of Pakistan’s 10 Billion Tree Tsunami Programme. Minister Khurshid urged action and collaboration to amplify such efforts: “I hope that we will be able to form a platform for the mountain communities and addressing the needs especially for the mountain communities… We need to give access to the products of mountain communities in international markets where they can present their fruits, meat, or whatever they have, so that they can have a dependable revenue and won’t be using the resources, forests, or whatever the natural habitat we have. An interlinking platform where we can learn from each other’s experiences and share the local wisdom to get more adaptive methods and to combat new challenges.”

For more details contact: Trushna Torche at trushna.torche@akdn.org

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Founded and guided by His Highness the Aga Khan, the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) is a group of private international development agencies that works to improve the quality of life and to create opportunity for people around the world. Its approach to development spans a range of cultural, social, economic and environmental endeavours. The mandates of its agencies include education and health, agriculture and food security, micro-finance, human habitat, crisis response and disaster reduction, protection of the environment, art, music, architecture, urban planning and conservation, and cultural heritage and preservation. A principal focus for the AKDN is the enhancement of a pluralist civil society as an underwriter of human progress. Recognising interdependence, upholding the dignity of life and valuing partnership, the AKDN seeks to promote peace and stability, nurture innovation and create an enabling environment that allows all, regardless of their differences, to realise their full potential.

The Aga Khan Agency for Habitat (AKAH) works to ensure that people live in safe, sustainable and resilient habitats with the opportunity to thrive, whether in a remote mountain village, a town, or a densely populated urban centre. It works with communities to help them prepare for and respond to natural disasters and the effects of climate change. AKAH also works to expand access to services and opportunity for people to improve their life. AKAH helps communities prepare for the worst; provides immediate relief after disaster strikes; and helps build back better – and greener – while planning for a better future. Established in 2015, AKAH combines several agencies and programmes of the AKDN that had been working on housing, habitat, and disaster preparedness and relief since the 1990s in South and Central Asia.

Running from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 and coinciding with the UAE’s Golden Jubilee, Expo 2020 Dubai will bring the world together, fostering an open, global dialogue that looks to the future and addresses some of the most pressing issues facing our world today. The Programme for People and Planet will run across the entire six months of Expo 2020, anchored by 10 Theme Weeks and 18 International Days, each of which explore key issues of global significance. Through the Theme Weeks, participants will investigate solutions to critical global challenges, ranging from mitigating climate change and biodiversity loss and making human habitats more sustainable, to bridging the digital divide and ensuring equal access to education and health care. Millions of visitors from across the globe will be invited to join the making of a new world, learning how we can ensure a future that is fair and inclusive for all, and creating a global movement that will leave a lasting legacy of positive change.