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ISLAMABAD, Jan 13 (APP):The Akhtar Hameed Khan National Centre for Rural Development (AHKNCRD), in collaboration with the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP), held an inaugural ceremony on Monday for an International Training program at the National Centre for Rural Development (NCRD). The program aims to address challenges related to climate change.
The title of the inaugural event was ‘Disaster Management and Climate Change Adaptation’.
10 CIRDAP member countries, including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal, and Iran attended the international training program. The inaugural ceremony was chaired by Director General of NCRD Israr Mohammad Khan and was also joined by Director of CIRDAP, Zakirul Haq.
The ceremony was also graced by the presence of eminent dignitaries, including Dr. Zafar Qadir, Former Director General of NCRD and Former Chairman of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA); Dr. Muhammad Israr, Secretary of Livestock, Fisheries & Cooperative and Integrated Rural Development (IRD) expert at CIRDAP; Dr. Muhammad Azeem Khan, Former Chairman of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) and Former Member of Food Security & Climate Change, Planning Commission of Pakistan; Aftab Ur Rehman Rana, Managing Director of the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC); and Raheel Nazir, CEO of Rah-e-Nau Constellations.
Moreover, Ambassador to the Embassy of Nepal, Rita Dhital joined the session.
In his welcome address, Director General of NCRD Israr Mohammad Khan hailed the efforts of organisers for holding this ten-day extensive international training in Pakistan, which has begun from January 12. He welcomed the delegates from CIRDAP member countries, delegates of the diplomatic corps, and other dignitaries and commended the efforts of CIRDAP officials, especially Dr. P. Chandra Shekara, DG CIRDAP, in that regard.
He thanked Zakirul Haq, Director CIRDAP, for joining the participants for the inaugural session.
DG NCRD highlighted how CIRDAP member countries, including Pakistan, are increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts, underscoring the urgent need for robust disaster management strategies and collaborative adaptation measures to build resilience.
He also emphasised the importance of equipping stakeholders with knowledge and tools to effectively address the intertwined challenges of disaster management and climate change adaptation. He expressed his views that the collaboration promises valuable exchanges of experiences and best practices from across the CIRDAP countries.
Israr expressed a strong presumption that the training program, complemented by in-house sessions and field visits, would provide profound insights to the participants and experts from the member countries. He expressed gratitude to CIRDAP for its support and extended appreciation to the participants from member countries, hoping that they embark on the journey to deepen their understanding of disaster management and climate change adaptation.
During his address, Zakirul Haq thanked the delegates for joining the training program and emphasised the importance of regional collaboration in addressing the dual challenges of disaster management and climate change adaptation.
He reiterated CIRDAP’s commitment to supporting member countries through knowledge sharing, capacity building, and fostering innovative solutions to promote sustainable development.
Director CIRDAP hoped that the training program would equip participants with the knowledge and skills needed to implement effective disaster management and climate adaptation strategies in their respective countries.
At the end of the ceremony, an introductory session of the participants took place.