New Delhi, Apr 25 (PTI) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a "very important platform" and New Delhi wants more international players to come forward and support it.

The remarks came days after France became the new co-chair of the governing council of the CDRI.

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MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in response to a question during his weekly media briefing said France is an "important strategic partner" and India looks forward to working with the nation within the ambit of the CDRI as well.

Launched in 2019, the CDRI is now a global coalition of 39 countries and seven organisations.

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The CDRI promotes rapid development of resilient infrastructure to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals' imperatives of expanding universal access to basic services, enabling prosperity and decent work, according to its website.

India is the permanent co-chair of the CDRI's governing council.

"This (CDRI) is a very important platform. On this platform, the lead globally has been taken by India. A large number of countries have joined this platform. We welcome participation by all the members. We want to strengthen this. We all know how important it is to fight climate change, the disruptions caused by climate change," Jaiswal said.

"And we want more international players, the global community to come forward and support us," he added.

Asserting France is an "important strategic partner", the MEA spokesperson said, "We look forward to working with them, within the ambit of CDRI as well."

During the briefing, Jaiswal was also asked if India has received an invitation for the upcoming G7 Summit in Italy and will attend it.

"We know that the G7 meeting is to be held in Italy. We have received the invitation, but at this point in time, it is a matter under consideration and (when) we will come to know of details...we will share," he said.

On January 1, Italy assumed the presidency of the G7 which consists of Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US.

The Italian presidency will last until December 31 and will feature a dense programme of technical meetings and institutional events throughout the country. The main event, the Leaders' Summit, will be held on June 13-15 in Apulia, according to the G7 Italian presidency website.

The MEA spokesperson was also asked about France's role in the planned new National Museum in Delhi.

"France, of course, is an important country when it comes to art and cultural collaboration, and we have a very vibrant cultural collaboration with France and several other countries," he said.

The French embassy had said in a statement on Tuesday that Aurélien Lechevallier, Director General for Global Affairs and Cultural and Economic Diplomacy, French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, and G7/G20 Sous-Sherpa of France on Monday "visited India to participate in the Governing Council meeting of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and advance Indo-French cooperation on culture and global commons".

On this occasion, the CDRI announced Lechevallier as the new co-chair of its governing council for a period of two years (2024-2026).

Lechevallier thereafter chaired the governing council meeting together with CDRI's Permanent Co-chair P K Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India.

France's candidacy to the CDRI co-chairship was first announced during President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to India in January 2024, the statement said.

Lechevallier had also co-chaired the Joint Working Group on Museology to further France's contribution in this strategic field of the bilateral cultural cooperation, which includes collaboration in the development and management of museums, conservation and display of artifacts, and enhancing visitor experience.

"An important topic on the agenda was India's project to create a new National Museum in New Delhi. As per the Letter of Intent signed on the occasion of Prime Minister Modi's visit to France in July 2023, France will be India's partner on this project through its national agency France Muséums Développement," it said.

Together with a delegation of museum experts, Lechevallier had visited the North and South Block sites, where the new museum will be located.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)