CDRI And MEA Organise Workshop To Strengthen Power Sector In Indo-Pacific

New Delhi, June 8, 2024: The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) have jointly organised a workshop to strengthen the power sector’s disaster preparedness and management policies to prevent new and reduce disaster risks across the Indo-Pacific.

The four-day event titled ‘Strengthening Capacity of Power Sector Practitioners in the Indo-Pacific Region: Technical Workshop under the Quad Infrastructure Coordination Group’ was held from June 4-7 in New Delhi and Agra.

Important topics like climate risk data, assessing vulnerabilities in power assets, planning for resilience, and investing in strong infrastructure were discussed at the workshop. 

Amit Prothi, Director General, Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, said, "CDRI is proud to partner with the Government of India to support the Quad Infrastructure Coordination Group.  This workshop will leverage regional expertise to enable better understanding of how to develop disaster resilient power infrastructure across the Indo-Pacific.”

With the Indo-Pacific being significantly impacted by disasters, there is a high risk of damage to “last mile” power transmission and distribution infrastructure disrupting lives and livelihoods. The workshop aimed to influence long-term planning to build resilience in the power sector.

Nagaraj Naidu Kakanur, Joint Secretary (Americas), Ministry of External Affairs, shared, “There are long-term costs of physical and climate-related disaster events on the power sector. The power generation plants we build today will operate for decades, so they need to be designed and operated taking into consideration the potential impact of climate change and other physical hazards.”

Suja Menon, Joint Secretary, DPA-1, Ministry of External Affairs, said, “Quad members have been collaborating with the CDRI to help countries mitigate physical and climate risks. The workshop organized by the MEA and the CDRI is another important step towards strengthening disaster preparedness in the Indo-Pacific.”

CDRI is a partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and academia. CDRI advances the cause of climate and disaster resilient infrastructure (DRI), thereby ensuring sustainable development.