Categories: India

PM calls for a global ecosystem to jointly tackle major disasters

<p>
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the pandemic has shown how the world can come together and emphasized the need for fostering  a global ecosystem that supports innovation in all parts of the world, and its transfer to places that are most in need.</p>
<p>
The PM was addressing the opening ceremony of the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure through a video conference at which the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, Fiji and Italy were present.</p>
<p>
“The pandemic has shown us that innovation to address global challenges can come from anywhere” he said, and hoped the year 2021 proves to be a year of swift recovery from the pandemic.</p>
<p>
Participants from national governments, experts from international organisations, academic institutions and the private sector also participated in the conference.</p>
<p>
Terming the current situation unprecedented, the Prime Minister said, “We are witnessing an event that is being termed a once-in-a-hundred-year disaster. COVID-19 pandemic has taught us that in an interdependent and interconnected world, no country-rich or poor, in the east or west, north or south- is immune to the effect of global disasters.”</p>
<p>
The Prime Minister noted that the pandemic has shown how the world can come together. “The pandemic has shown us that innovation to address global challenges can come from anywhere” said the Prime Minister.</p>
<p>
For this, Shri Modi called for  fostering  a global ecosystem that supports innovation in all parts of the world, and its transfer to places that are most in need. The year 2021 promises to be a year of swift  recovery from the pandemic, he hoped.</p>
<p>
The Prime Minister cautioned that the lessons from the pandemic  must not be forgotten. They apply to not only public health disasters but other disasters as well. He said that It will take sustained and concerted  efforts to mitigate climate change.</p>
<p>
The Prime Minister stressed that countries that are making large investments in infrastructure, such as India, must ensure that this is an investment in resilience, and not in risk.</p>
<p>
Many infrastructure systems- digital infrastructure, shipping lines, aviation  networks- cover the entire world and the effect of disaster in one part of the world can quickly spread across the world. Cooperation is a must for ensuring the resilience of the global system.</p>
<p>
The Prime Minister pointed out that the year 2021 is a particularly important year. We are approaching the mid-point of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris agreement, and the Sendai  Framework. The expectations from COP-26, to be hosted by the UK and Italy later this year, are high. This partnership on resilient infrastructure must play its important role in helping meet some of those expectations, he said.</p>
<p>
The Prime Minister elaborated on key priority areas. First, CDRI must embody  the central promise of Sustainable Development Goals, that is, "leave no one behind". This means that we have to put the concerns of the most vulnerable nations and communities first.</p>
<p>
Second, we must take stock of the performance of some of the key infrastructure sectors – particularly health infrastructure and the digital infrastructure, that played a central role during the pandemic.  What are the lessons from these sectors? And how can we make them more resilient for the future?</p>
<p>
Third, in our quest for resilience , no technological system should be considered too basic or too advanced. The CDRI must maximize the demonstration effect of the application of technology.</p>
<p>
And finally, the notion of "resilient infrastructure" must become a mass movement galvanizing  the energies of not just the experts, and formal institutions, the Prime Minister concluded.</p>

IN Bureau

Recent Posts

Baloch Yakjehti Committee releases documentary to honour Karima Baloch’s legacy

On the 4th death anniversary of human rights activist Karima Baloch, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee…

1 hour ago

EAM Jaishankar to visit US from December 24-29

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will visit the US from December 24-29 to discuss key…

2 hours ago

Balochistan: Medical students protest campus closure, security crackdown

Students at the Bolan Medical College (BMC) in Balochistan's Quetta entered the 27th day of…

3 hours ago

Climate change, health risks escalate amid surge in PoGB deforestation

The intensifying cutting of trees for firewood in Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) is not only worsening…

4 hours ago

India’s retired judges, bureaucrats call for “immediate end” to attacks on minorities in open letter to Bangladesh

A group of retired judges, bureaucrats, Army officials and other civil society members have penned…

5 hours ago

Israel, Slovakia sign historic USD 582 million deal to boost Air Defense capabilities

Israel and Slovakia signed a 2 billion shekel (USD 582 million) agreement on Monday to…

5 hours ago