New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address a virtual high-level dialogue on desertification, land degradation and drought at the UN convened by the President of the General Assembly next week.
Modi, President of the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD COP14 President), will address the high-level event convened by President of the 75th session of General Assembly Volkan Bozkir with the support of the UNCCD on the morning of June 14, according to a media advisory issued here by the office of the General Assembly President.
The high-level event will also be addressed by Deputy UN Secretary-General Amina Mohamed, Undersecretary-General and Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification Ibrahim Thiaw and Coordinator of the Association of Peul Women and Autochthonous Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim as well as Heads of State and Government, ministers and senior UN officials.
Agricultural industry leaders, representatives from international organisations and civil society groups will also address the event that aims to assess the progress made in fighting land degradation and map the way forward on global efforts to revive and restore healthy land.
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The land is the foundation of our societies and is a cornerstone to global food security and environmental health, zero hunger, poverty eradication and affordable energy. It underpins the success of the entire 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the advisory said.
Modi had inaugurated the high-level 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in New Delhi in September 2019.
The Conference had adopted the Delhi Declaration in which parties encouraged the transition and increased access to energy in rural and urban communities in the context of projects aimed at combating desertification/land degradation and drought and achieving land degradation neutrality and resilience-building.
It also encouraged a proactive approach to reduce the risks and impacts of desertification/land degradation and drought through the implementation of drought preparedness plans and increased risk mitigation for drought and sand and dust storms.