BRICS nations should work together on Disaster Risk Reduction: Rijiju

Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju on Monday urged BRICS countries to come together for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), saying it will help in influencing the global agenda for strengthening efforts on the issue.

India is willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with other BRICS nations and explore all possible areas of collaboration in DRR, he said while inaugurating a two-day BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) meeting on disaster management in Udaipur, Rajasthan.

According to a press release issued here, the minister said that DRR is a "high priority area" for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"It is time that we move away from a static understanding of risk, and that we must realize that tomorrow's risk is being built today," he said, adding that there is a strong need to focus on urban disasters keeping in mind that a large number of people will be living in cities by 2050.

"We need to move towards an all-society approach to tackle disasters. While governments have to pay a central role, they cannot do it by themselves. They have to take everybody along. The government action must be geared towards empowering and supporting communities and individuals to be more and more self-reliant in their quest for resilience," Rijiju added.

--IANS

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