Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa pledged to boost cooperation on disaster management in response to the COVID 19 epidemic, as well as the exacerbating climate change and increasingly frequent natural disasters.
They will promote cooperation on national strategic plans, policies, regulations and standards in the field of disaster risk prevention and mitigation, as well as a joint declaration released on Friday after the third meeting of the BRICS Ministers for Disaster Management.
It was hosted by China's Ministry of Emergency Management and promoted the modernization of the disaster prevention and management capacity, which will contribute to the high quality development of BRICS countries. More high-level visits and experience sharing among management and technical staff will be carried out as BRICS nations strive to promote cooperation among disaster management agencies and improve the disaster management capacities of their professionals.
Among the key sectors that BRICS countries plan to increase cooperation are risk monitoring, early warning and assessment, work safety prevention, capacity building for emergency rescue forces and post-disaster recovery and reconstruction.
They are committed to developing research and promoting technological innovations in addition to applying for cooperation projects from international organizations and institutions.
They will continue to promote the implementation of the 2015 Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015 -- 2030, the 2015 Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development as well as the central role of the United Nations in international cooperation on risk reduction.
The countries also reaffirmed that they will continue to support and promote exchange and cooperation with other countries and international organizations in the area of disaster management.
In his keynote speech to the meeting, Wang Xiangxi, Minister of Emergency Management, stressed the importance that the Chinese government attaches to natural disaster control and its willingness to strengthen cooperation with other BRICS nations on disaster management.
He said that China has accelerated the modernization of its emergency management system to curb major accidents because of its people-centered development philosophy and belief that nothing is more precious than life.
As influential emerging economies and developing nations, the minister said that BRICS countries all suffer from natural disasters and there is consensus on a multiplicity of exchange and cooperation to strengthen disaster mitigation capabilities.
He noted that China is willing to bolster innovation in the development of emergency management technologies because of its experience in tackling disasters.
Wang believes that he looks forward to seeing more in-depth and pragmatic BRICS Plus cooperation on disaster management, as joint efforts are made to speed up the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and foster a shared global community of development.
Friday was the third meeting of BRICS ministers for disaster management. In 2016 both of the previous meetings were held in St. Petersburg, Russia and Udaipur, India.