Indian delegation participates in Asia-Pacific conference on disaster risk reduction

new delhi: A high-level Indian delegation, led by Union minister of state for home affairs, Nityanand Rai, participates in the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) 2024 in Manila, the Philippines.

The theme, “Towards 2030: Improving disaster reduction targets in the Asia Pacific”, was inaugurated by the Philippines President Bangbang Marcos. In line with his vision, he convened a gathering of the Asia-Pacific leaders and policymakers to develop strategies that will further help in preventing disasters amidst the crisis.

Rai affirmed in his statement that the reality of disaster cannot be accepted and that it causes more deaths and economic and overall development.

He, therefore, reiterated India’s commitment to make concerted and effective efforts to reduce the impact of disasters through the ten-point agenda for poverty reduction framed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The DRR priorities identified by Rai include the creation of early warning systems and early disaster response plans, the promotion of new technologies like CAP and mobile messaging in EWS, and discussing the role of the tsunami warning centre of India, which issues tsunami alerts to 25 countries in the Indian Ocean to ensure last-mile connectivity.

Rai also highlighted India’s leadership in promoting infrastructure development as a key component of sustainable development. He cited the coalition for disaster resilient infrastructure (CDRI), an Indian initiative currently covering 47 countries, providing assistance and capacity building for disaster resilience.

Significantly, Rai said that India is one of the few countries that has allocated funds to corporate entities for disaster

risk reduction.