India has laid emphasis on implementation of the recently concluded memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh in the field of disaster management, resilience and mitigation on a priority basis.
“We must implement the recently-concluded MoU in the field of disaster management, resilience and mitigation on a priority basis,” said Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar in a letter sent to his Bangladesh counterpart Dr AK Abdul Momen.
Bangladesh and India signed a number of MoUs to enhance cooperation in various sectors, including disaster management, resilience, and mitigation during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Bangladesh in March this year.
In the letter, Dr Jaishankar expressed confidence that these mechanisms will help the two countries remain better prepared to face such challenges in the future.
“We’re glad that Bangladesh has decided to accept our invitation to join the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure,” said the Indian External Affairs Minister.
The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions that aims to promote the resilience of new and existing infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks in support of sustainable development.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Japan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Argentina and Brazil are among the members of the initiative.
Dr Momen rightly pointed out that the entire world, in particular the South Asian region, is witnessing frequent climate related disasters, mentioned Dr Jaishankar in his letter.
The Indian External Affairs Minister also stated that capacity building, learning from each other’s best practices as well as extending support to each other is the need of the hour, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here.
Dr Jaishankar thanked Dr Momen for his condolence letter for the people who lost their lives in the recent floods in Maharashtra.
