India elected as co-chair of UN Global Geospatial Committee for Asia-Pacific

• India has been elected as the Co-Chair of the Regional Committee of United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP).

• The elections were conducted during the 14th Plenary Meeting of UN-GGIM-AP held in Goyang-si, South Korea.

• The meeting brought together delegates from member states, technical experts and observers to discuss issues relevant in geospatial information management across the Asia-Pacific region.

• India’s election as Co-Chair, along with South Korea, is expected to further enhance the country’s role in shaping policies and strategies for effective geospatial information management across the Asia-Pacific region.

UN-GGIM-AP

• The Regional Committee of United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP) is one of the five regional committees of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).

• UN-GGIM is the apex inter-governmental mechanism for making joint decisions and setting directions with regard to the production, availability and use of geospatial information within national, regional and global policy frameworks. 

• UN-GGIM aims to address global challenges regarding the use of geospatial information, including in the development agendas, to serve as a body for global policymaking in the field of geospatial information management.

• UN-GGIM-AP was initially established in 1995 as the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP). It was rebranded as UN-GGIM-AP in 2012, subsequent to the establishment of UN-GGIM in 2011.

• As the representing body of the National Geospatial Information Authority of 56 countries and economies in Asia and the Pacific region, the UN-GGIM-AP aims to promote the use of geospatial information for identifying problems and finding solutions, so that the economic, social and environmental benefits of geospatial information will be maximized in Asia and the Pacific region.

• United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok serves as secretariat for UN-GGIM-AP.

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants.)