Sendai:
India today called for enhanced global cooperation in pursuing effective disaster management and help all communities to become self-reliant in mitigating the impacts of disasters.
Chairing a ministerial round table during the ‘3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction’ here, Home Minister Rajnath Singh appealed to all countries to reaffirm their commitment for strengthening support mechanisms through international cooperation.
The Minister said India is committed to offer all support to the international efforts in disaster risk reduction and achieving substantive outcome in this direction.
The ministerial round table chaired by Singh was one of the most important round tables focusing on the issue of global cooperation for disaster risk reduction in post-2015 framework.
Over 35 countries from Asia-Pacific, Africa, Americas, Europe, as well as eight international organisations deliberated on generating ideas to bring about better international cooperation for disaster risk reduction.
During the meeting, the Home Minister stressed on identifying strategic areas that require international partnership to support the implementation of the programme.
The participants agreed that efforts should not be limited to post-disaster relief and reconstruction, and that development activities and paradigm should integrate disaster risk reduction strategies.
On the sidelines of the conference, Singh also met Japanese Minister for Disaster Management Eriko Yamatani and congratulated her for assumption of the Presidency for the Conference.
He assured her of India’s support in achieving a forward looking substantive outcomes from the conference.
Singh noted the exemplary courage and resilience of the people of Japan and expressed solidarity in their reconstruction efforts after the east Japan earthquake of March 2011.
Yamatani acknowledged contribution of the 46-member Indian National Disaster Response Force, which was one of the foreign teams to arrive in Japan after the earthquake of March 2011.
The two Ministers exchanged views on possible bilateral cooperation in the area of disaster management, police training and modernisation.
The Home Minister also met the Russian Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Elimination of Consequences of Natural Disasters, Puchkov Vladimir Andreyevich.
The two ministers exchanged views on enhancing the ongoing cooperation in dealing with emergency situations, natural disasters as well as encouraging greater institutional linkages between research and training institutes in the area of disaster management.
The two ministers also discussed possible use for space-based technologies for averting natural disasters and their management.
The Home Minister also visited the town of Onagawa, where India’s NDRF team assisted the Japanese authorities in their search and rescue mission from March 26 to April 7, 2011.
He was received by the Mayor of Onagawa, Yoshiaki Suda, who briefed the Minister on the devastation caused by the earthquake and Tsunami.
