Delhi,25 June:Ministers and Senior Officials from the Asia-Pacific Countries adopted the Delhi Declaration on Sustainable Livelihood during a Ministerial Retreat held today. The Ministerial Retreat on Rural Development for the Asia Pacific region was jointly organized by the Government of India and the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) and was held at the Vigyan Bhavan in the capital.
Dr.Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, the Minister of Rural Development, presided over the Retreat. Ministers and/or their representatives from the following CIRDAP member countries participated in the retreat: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
The theme for the Ministerial Retreat was Sustainable Livelihood with special focus on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Women Empowerment in the context of rural development. The declaration agreed upon taking some affirmative action in CIRDAP member countries on the improvement of rural livelihood, empowerment of rural women and leveraging ICT for rural development in terms of Policy and Strategy. Some of these include promoting regional cooperation in marketing of rural products, promoting ICT to reach rural areas, promoting gender equality and the strategies to achieve them. The declaration called for simple affordable and cost effective technology with maximum coverage in rural areas.
In the Declaration, the Ministers strongly reiterated their commitment to rural development, to eradicate poverty and promote gender equality in the region.
While appreciating the efforts of the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, in effectively implementing various rural development programmes, the members noted that some of the member countries had made significant progress in poverty reduction.
Two keynote papers were presented during the business session: ‘Lverraging ICT for Effective Implementation of Rural Development Programmes’ by Dr.B.K.Gairoral, Director General of NIC, Government of India and ‘Gender Equality and Empowerment in Rural Development Programmes’ by Ms Renana Jhabvala, National Coordinator for SEWA, India. The presentation were followed by lively discussion among the participants.
Country statements were made by all the participating countries. The Ministerial Retreat concluded with the adoption of the Delhi Declaration by the Ministers of Rural Development of CIRDAP member countries.
The Ministerial Retreat and the Special Meeting of the CIRDAP Governing Council was inaugurated by the Vice President of India on June 24, 2008.
Earlier, this morning, the Retreat began with opening with opening remarks from the Director General of CIRDAP, Dr.Durga Paudyal,. The Minister for Rural Development, Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh set the tone of the Retreat and Dr. Rita Sharma, the Secretary of Rural Development conducted the programme.