Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, on Tuesday paid tribute to all those who “endured sacrifice and helped build Pakistan to the country it is today”.
His remarks came during his first official speech delivered during a reception at the Pakistan National Monument in Islamabad hosted by British High Commissioner to Pakistan Thomas Drew.
“For a country so young, Pakistan has endured many hardships, with countless lives lost to terror and hatred. Tonight I want to pay tribute to all those who have endured such sacrifice and helped to build the country that we see today,” said William.
He recognised that for “Pakistan’s great potential” to be realised, difficulties will have to be faced and sacrifices made.
William also spoke of the “unique bonds” between the two countries. He said 1.5 million people living in the UK had Pakistani heritage and the UK was one of Pakistan’s top investors. He said Pakistan could “rely on UK to keep playing an important role as a key partner and [a] friend”.
“Whether it’s this generation or the next, I know that the UK and Pakistan will continue to exemplify the very best in international cooperation,” he added.
Prince William spoke of the warm welcome and delicious food they had experienced in Pakistan after arriving on Monday evening and visiting local schoolchildren and Prime Minister Imran Khan. Laying emphasis on the importance of educating the youth, he said that it “will be the key that turns the country’s growing population into an engine of growth and help unlock this country’s enormous potential”.
He called for a concerted effort between both countries to surmount the challenge of climate change. “Whether in Pakistan or the UK or elsewhere on our planet – we face shared global challenges. The effects of climate change threaten the present and the future,” he said.
William cautioned against the rising temperatures leading to “a loss of over a third of [Pakistan’s] vital glaciers in less than a century, with enormous impacts not only on the availability of water, but on agriculture and hydropower generation”.
He said that today (Wednesday) he, along with his wife Kate Middleton, would “be seeing some of these impacts first hand and meeting some of the communities adjusting to the new realities and new challenges that climate change has brought to their towns and villages”.
The Prince expressed hope “to learn what more we all can do to help prevent and mitigate this impending global catastrophe”.
Prince William, along with Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, arrived at the venue in style in a rickshaw decked out in traditional truck art.
William was seen wearing traditional attire for the first time since his arrival – a teal sherwani – while Kate wore a green embellished gown.
Many prominent personalities were in attendance at the event, including Inter-Services Public Relations Director General Major General Asif Ghafoor, Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan, Wasim Akram and wife Shaniera Akram, designer Hassan Sheheryar Yasin, cricketer Mohammad Hafeez, actresses Mahira Khan, Hareem Farooq and Mehwish Hayat, and singer Atif Aslam.
Foreign policy experts and officials have said the trip, the first by a British royal family member in more than a decade and made at the request of the British Foreign Office, represented a soft power push, which may help both sides further their diplomatic aims.
