TEHRAN –During the Ninth Session of the Governing Council of the Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM), the Islamic Republic of Iran was elected as the new Chair of the Governing Council, succeeding Tajikistan.

Hosted by Tehran, the Ninth Session was held on Wednesday, January 22, in Tehran, with participants joining both in person and virtually.

Delegates representing APDIM’s Governing Council member countries- Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Iran, Macao, China, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Turkey—were present in the session. Other ESCAP member states joined as observers, including Maldives, Nepal, and Pakistan, the UN website announced in a press release on January 28.

Representatives from regional organizations such as the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), were also in attendance.

The session brought together member countries, observers, and regional organizations to review the Centre’s progress and set strategic priorities for the coming year.

The session opened with remarks by Jamshed Kamolzoda, Head of the Main Department for the Protection of the Population and Territories of the Committee of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense of the Republic of Tajikistan, who presided over the session. 

Also, Mohammad Qasemi, Deputy Head of the Plan and Budget Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), delivered opening remarks.

The Council reviewed APDIM’s activities and achievements since its last session. Discussions focused on advancement in disaster information management, capacity building and regional cooperation. An independent evaluation of the Centre’s performance was also presented, providing valuable insights into future planning.

During the session, the Islamic Republic of Iran was elected as the new Chair of the Governing Council, succeeding Tajikistan. India was elected Vice-Chair for the upcoming term.

Key outcomes of the session included the adoption of APDIM’s programme of work for 2025, taking note of the report on the activities of the Centre, the briefing on the process and key findings of the evaluation of the Centre, as well as APDIM’s report on its administrative and financial status. 

The Ninth Session of the Governing Council reaffirmed APDIM’s readiness to further contribute to strengthening disaster information management across the Asia-Pacific region, and supporting resilience-building efforts aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM) is mandated to reduce human and economic losses due to natural hazards and contribute to the effective design, investment and implementation of disaster risk reduction and resilience policies.

APDIM serves as an information and knowledge repository to support the Governments and other stakeholders in the region to develop their capacities as well as to facilitate regional cooperation on transboundary hazards in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran’s initial proposal to establish APDIM was approved at the sixth-seventh session of the Commission in 2011.

Subsequently, in 2015, ESCAP Member States decided to establish APDIM as a subsidiary body of ESCAP.

The General Assembly recognized the establishment of APDIM hosted by the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regional institution of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific through resolution 72/218.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and ESCAP signed the Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of APDIM in January 2018 and the Centre was officially opened and headquartered in Tehran in the same year.

MT/MG