The Republic of India, Lead Coordinator for IORA’s priority area of Disaster Risk Management, in collaboration with the IORA Secretariat, hosted the First Expert Group Meeting on Disaster Risk Management (EGMDRM) on 19th January 2021 virtually. 

The Meeting provided a concrete roadmap for Member States to establish an IORA Working Group on Disaster Risk Management (WGDRM) providing a mechanism for engaging disaster and emergency response officials and experts across the region to promote regional cooperation, and by facilitating practical coordination amongst stakeholders. The establishment of the WGDRM would aim to develop and adopt an evolving Disaster Risk Management (DRM) Work Plan to achieve the objectives outlined in the IORA Action Plan (2017-2021) and to build a resilient IOR. 

Moreover, the Meeting was set to finalise the IORA Guidelines for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) aimed at developing a speedy, responsive, coordinated, and effective HADR strategy for IORA Member States, when required and serving the purpose of establishing a common understanding of HADR operations. The guidelines can be accessed at ..\..\DRM\HADR Final Version April 2021.docx