Islamabad (GNP): A delegation of National Coordinators and senior officials from Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states, in Pakistan for the first meeting of the SCO Council of National Coordinators (CNC) under Pakistan’s chairmanship, visited the National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC) at NDMA Headquarters in Islamabad. The delegation included representatives from Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
NDMA officials gave a comprehensive overview of NEOC’s operational capabilities, highlighting Pakistan’s shift toward proactive disaster management and strengthened response systems aimed at reducing recurring disaster risks. NDMA Chairman Lt. Gen. Inam Haider Malik briefed the delegation on various initiatives the authority has undertaken to support regional integration and the global Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) framework.
The delegation was updated on NDMA’s recent achievements, technological progress, and future plans to adopt next-generation technologies aimed at improving early warning systems, strengthening coordinated response mechanisms, and ensuring timely delivery of accurate, actionable information to the public.
Officials also highlighted NDMA’s coordination with national leadership, its role in providing guidance frameworks for provincial and local governments, and its institutional partnerships with leading global disaster management bodies, regional organisations, academic institutions, and humanitarian agencies.
The NDMA team demonstrated its use of advanced digital tools and data-driven systems for hazard monitoring, risk assessment, and informed decision-making, while briefing visitors on the country’s Disaster Early Warning (DEW) systems, response mechanisms, and efforts to ensure disaster warnings reach the public in a timely and localized manner.
Chairman Malik also pointed to opportunities for deeper regional cooperation among SCO member states in areas such as disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, knowledge sharing, capacity building, and coordinated emergency response.
He proposed regionalizing proactive disaster management through standardized DRR templates, expanding cooperation among member states to address the shared threat of climate change and regional vulnerabilities, and stressed the importance of leveraging technological innovation and institutional collaboration to tackle emerging climate-related and complex disaster challenges.
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The visiting delegation commended Pakistan’s efforts to modernize its disaster management infrastructure and strengthen NEOC’s operational capacity. Officials described the visit as a valuable opportunity to explore ways of deepening regional cooperation and facilitating the exchange of expertise among SCO member states in disaster preparedness, early warning, emergency response, and resilience-building.
Sohail Majeed is a Special Correspondent at The Diplomatic Insight. He has twelve plus years of experience in journalism & reporting. He covers International Affairs, Diplomacy, UN, Sports, Climate Change, Economy, Technology, and Health.
