Srinagar, Mar 17 (KINS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has 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.
Modi hoped that the year 2021 promises to be a year of swift recovery from the pandemic.
The Prime Minister said this while addressing the opening ceremony of International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure through video conferencing.
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”.
He said, 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.
Modi noted that the pandemic has shown how the world can come together and also shown us that innovation to address global challenges can come from anywhere.
The Prime Minister cautioned that the lessons from the pandemic must not be forgotten as they apply to not only public health disasters but other disasters as well.
He said, it will take sustained and concerted efforts to mitigate climate change.
The Prime Minister said, 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.
He emphasised that cooperation is a must for ensuring the resilience of the global system.
He mentioned that as a global cooperation mechanism anchored in the global south, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) offers us a suitable platform for advancing this agenda.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the year 2021 is a particularly important year and we are approaching the mid-point of the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris agreement, and the Sendai Framework.
He said, the expectations from COP-26, to be hosted by the UK and Italy later this year, are high and this partnership on resilient infrastructure must play its important role in helping meet some of those expectations.
Elaborating on key priorities areas, Prime Minister Modi said, first, CDRI must embody the central promise of the Sustainable Development Goals, that is, “leave no one behind”.
He said, this means that we have to put the concerns of the most vulnerable nations and communities first. He said, the Second is, 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.
He said, the third which is in our quest for resilience, no technological system should be considered too basic or too advanced. The Prime Minister said, the CDRI must maximize the demonstration effect of the application of technology. He added that the notion of “resilient infrastructure” must become a mass movement galvanizing the energies of not just the experts, and formal institutions.(KINS)
PM Modi addresses International Conference on Disaster resilient Infrastructure; Says, lessons from pandemic should not be forgotten
