Asia-Pacific countries sign Delhi Declaration on Sustainable Livelihood

Officials from the Asia-Pacific countries signed the Delhi Declaration on Sustainable Livelihood during a Ministerial Retreat held in New Delhi on Wednesday. The Ministerial Retreat on Rural Development for the Asia Pacific region was jointly organised 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.

The Retreat, chaired by the Indian Minister of Rural Development Dr. Raghuvansh Prasad Singh, hosts participants from the CIRDAP member countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

The focal point was the development of rural livelihood, empowerment of rural women and so the theme of the retreat as “Sustainable Livelihood with special focuses on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Women Empowerment”.

All member countries agreed upon to take some affirmative actions on the improvement of rural livelihood 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, representatives from different countries also reiterated their commitment to rural development, to eradicate poverty and promote gender equality in the region.

Two keynote papers were presented during the business session: ‘Leveraging 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 was followed by lively discussion among the participants.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Ministerial Retreat and the Special Meeting of the CIRDAP Governing Council was inaugurated by the Vice President of India M. Hamid Ansari.

The Vice President in his speech vocalised the need of agrarian reform and developmental issues. He asserted that while economic and social interventions are necessary, they are not enough to bring about the desired outcomes. It is therefore the duty of policy makers to ensure that the interaction of politics with policy is constructive and synergistic.