Ramesh to head Asia-Pacific outfit on rural development

Union Minister Jairam Ramesh is slated to be the next chairperson of a key autonomous Asia-Pacific organisation on rural development.
The 19th governing council of the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and Pacific (CIRDAP) scheduled to be held here tomorrow will elect its Chairperson.
India is one of the founding members of the 15-nation CIRDAP, a regional, intergovernmental and autonomous organisation which plays a supplementary and reinforcing role in supporting and furthering the effectiveness of integrated rural development programmes in Asia and the Pacific.
The governing council, the highest authority of CIRDAP, will be inaugurated by President Pranab Mukherjee at Vigyan Bhawan her.

The other member countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Fiji, Indonesia, Iran, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
It consists of the Ministers in charge of agriculture and rural development in the member countries.

The Council formulates policies, provides directions to the Centre and approves planning, the biennial work programme and the budget.
"It is expected that the leadership of Mr Ramesh will bring a new perspective to the Centre's involvement in setting up dialogues and policies for the rural development sector of the region," said Dr Cecep Effendi, Director General of CIRDAP.
The tenure of the Chairperson is for two years.