Pakistan’s foreign minister has issued an emotional plea ahead of a major conference next week, urging the international community to generously donate funds to aid flood victims in the country.

The meeting in Geneva, co-hosted by the United Nations and Pakistan, aims to raise funds for victims of last summer’s unprecedented flooding, which experts attribute in part to climate change.

The disaster claimed the lives of 1,739 people and affected 33 million Pakistanis.

At one point, one third of the country’s territory was under water.

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari stated on Tuesday that he wants the world to remember the flood victims.