PM asks G20 nations to join global coalition against disasters

PM asks G20 nations to join global coalition against disasters

Osaka: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit, in Osaka, Japan on June 29, 2019. (Photo: IANS/PIB)

Osaka (Japan), June 29 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday invited G20 countries to join a proposed international coalition to address issues related to post-disaster situations anywhere in the world.

Addressing a session of G20 Summit here, he said the International Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure is needed for quick and effective measures after disasters strike as such tragedies mostly affect the poor.

The thinking behind the initiative is that every time a major disaster occurs, immediate relief and rehabilitation is given but thereafter small, vulnerable and developing countries are left to fend for themselves.

The initiative would be essentially a loose virtual coalition of countries which have capacity in handling post-disaster infrastructure development. That capacity could be in terms of financial or human resources support or utilization of experience.

"Disaster resilient infrastructure is required not only for development but it is also necessary to combat natural calamities," Modi said.

He recalled that he had stressed the need for such a coalition at the last G20 Summit held in Buenos Aires last year. "I invite the G20 countries to join this coalition and share their experience and expertise," the Prime Minister said.

"At the #G20 Summit, invited other nations to join the International Coalition on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure. Let us close ranks for a safer planet," he tweeted later.

"Disasters, natural or man-made, require quick and effective remedial measures. They invariably affect the poor the most," he added in another tweet.

The Prime Minister's view is that capacities around the world should be pooled in and utilised whenever a disaster occurs in any country and when the coalition is in place, the government of the affected country would know where to access help.

"This is a space which has not been filled by anybody yet," Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale said recently, adding Modi felt that this is an area in which India, with its experience and capacity to handle disasters, can take a lead in.

At the G20 session, Modi also spoke about the need for proper healthcare and referred to India's healing measures like Yoga and "our present efforts like the world's largest healthcare programme, Ayushman Bharat".

The Prime Minister pitched for cooperation in this field too, according to his Sherpa and former Union Minister Suresh Prabhu.

The Prime Minister also spoke about global challenges and highlighted India's role in innovations in a manner that benefits all, Prabhu said.

--IANS

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