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UN-Affiliated Disaster Office Opens in Tehran

Iran and the UN signed an agreement on Tuesday on the establishment of the APDIM office in Tehran.
Iran and the UN signed an agreement on Tuesday on the establishment of the APDIM office in Tehran.

The Asian and Pacific Centre for the Development of Disaster Information Management (APDIM) officially opened in Tehran on Tuesday.

The center, which is affiliated to United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), aims to help reduce the damage by natural disasters, in particular earthquakes, IRNA reported.

ESCAP Executive Secretary Shamshad Akhtar and Iranian Vice President Mohammad Baqer Nobakht signed the memorandum of understanding on the establishment of the center on the sidelines of the Second Session of the Governing Council of APDIM in Tehran.

Some 40 dignitaries from Asia-Pacific countries are taking part in the two-day conference—started on Tuesday—to chart a course for the center's future activities.

"Creating such a center will be a good opportunity for the Islamic Republic of Iran to help mitigate the effects of natural disasters and dust storms in the region," Nobakht said.

The center could also facilitate efforts aimed at promoting peace through providing a platform to explore ways of addressing common issues, he added.

The establishment of APDIM office in Tehran was approved unanimously in the 67th meeting of ESCAP in 2011. In 2015 the center's Articles of Associations and its strategies were finalized.

Nobakht, who is also the head of the Management and Planning Organization, said Iran has granted $3.3 million to help launch APDIM.

He expressed Iran's readiness to share experience in dealing with natural disasters with Asia-Pacific countries, adding that "Asia Pacific is the world's most disaster-prone region."

ESCAP is the regional development arm of the United Nations for the Asia-Pacific region. Made up of 53 member states and nine associate members, with a geographical scope that stretches from Turkey in the west to the Pacific island nation of Kiribati in the east, and from the Russian Federation in the north to New Zealand in the south, the region is home to 4.1 billion people, or two-thirds of the world's population.

 

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