India replaces China as Chair of Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre

New Delhi, July 26 (IANS) India has taken over as the Chair of Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) with China's tenure coming to an end, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced on Friday.

Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India is playing a global and regional leadership role in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and the country has taken a number of global initiatives in this direction, especially in establishing an international Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), an official said.

As a representative of the Central government, Rajendra Singh, Member & HoD, National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), has taken over the Chair of Asian Disaster Preparedness Centre (ADPC) from China for the year 2024-25 in Bangkok on Thursday.

ADPC is an autonomous International Organization for cooperation in and implementation of disaster risk reduction and building climate resilience in Asia and the Pacific region.

India and eight neighbouring countries, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand are the founding members of ADPC.

India also chaired the 5th Board of Trustee meeting of ADPC held on July 25 in Bangkok.