The G20 India Presidency has achieved a significant milestone by building consensus to start a new workstream on disaster risk reduction after assuming the G20 Presidency. The 1st Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group (DRRWG) meeting will take place from March 30 to April 1, 2023, in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The meeting will be inaugurated by Dr. PK Mishra, PS to Honourable Prime Minister and Minister of State for Communication, Government of India Shri DevuSinh Chauhan. More than 80 delegates from G20 member countries, invited countries and international organisations are attending the meeting.
This momentous occasion serves as a resounding call to action for the global community to come together and collaboratively pave the path towards a future that is fortified against the devastation caused by disasters.
India's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), MHA, will lead the discussions on the DRRWG. The meeting over the three days would deliberate on - Global coverage of Early Warning Systems, Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, stronger national financial frameworks, disaster response systems and increased application of ecosystems-based approaches to DRR. On the margins of the main meeting, two side events are envisaged on 'Early Warning-Early Action' and 'Disaster Risk Reduction and its Impact on Global Infrastructure Resilience: Insights for the G20' respectively.
As a prelude to the main event, a Curtain Raiser: 'Learning from Disasters: Memorialising disasters, learning, building back better, investing in resilience' took place on the 29th of March, 2023 at the Gujarat Institute of Disaster Management (GIDM) attended by Dr. PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Honourable Prime Minister along with subject-matter experts in Disaster Risk Reduction. Some other key participants included Dr. Adityajati, Deputy Minister, National Agency for Disaster Management, Indonesia, Ms. Rita Missal from UNDP, Dr. Agostino Goretti from Italy amongst others.
During the three days, the delegates would also be given an opportunity to get a glimpse of the cultural heritage and cuisine of Gujarat along with a field visit to the Smritivan Earthquake Memorial and Museum at Bhuj
