CIRDAP for eradicating poverty, promotion of gender equality

New Delhi, Jun 26 (UNI) The three-day Ministerial Retreat and Special Session of Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and Pacific (CIRDAP) concluded here today with the signing of the Delhi Declaration late last evening.

The document reiterated the firm commitment of the member countries to eradicate poverty, promote gender equality and sustainable development in the rural areas of the region through knowledge sharing and collaboration.

During the three-day conference, deliberations had taken place on the various initiatives taken by different member countries towards poverty alleviation and rural development. The visiting delegates were deeply impressed by various steps taken by India in bringing about a directed change in the rural areas in general and particularly by the unique National Rural Employment Guarantee Programme and the SHG movement which is transforming the face of rural India as never before.

CIRDAP, an Inter-governmental Regional Organisation was established in 1979 by FAO/UN with its headquarters in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The centre is broadly mandated to facilitate the provision of services that will influence policy formulation and programme action towards rural development in its member countries.

The Member Countries have a total population of 2.03 billion and around 58 percent of them live in the rural areas.

The Ministerial Retreat was inaugurated by Vice-President Hamid Ansari and presided over by Rural Development Minister Dr Raghuvansh Prasad Singh.

The 3-day Retreat focused on ''Creation of Sustainable Livelihoods for the Rural Poor''. The Member Countries shared their collective experience on use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for effective implementation of rural development programmes and promoting gender equality and empowerment of women through these programmes.

Major initiatives launched by India in these fields were showcased during the Ministerial Retreat. Besides, recent developments in Information and Communication Technology and the plethora of avenues created by these innovations for development, breaking barriers to human knowledge, to participate and to economic opportunities were also discussed at length.

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