Noting that many infrastructure systems cover the entire world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the effect of a disaster in one part can quickly spread across the globe and cooperation is a must for ensuring the resilience of the global system.

Addressing the International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, Modi said the COVID-19 pandemic has taught that in an interdependent and interconnected world, no country -- whether rich or poor, in the east or west, north or south -- is immune to the effect of global disasters.

On the one hand the pandemic has shown us how impacts can quickly spread across the world, and on the other, it has shown how the world can come together to fight a common threat, Modi said.

Many infrastructure systems such as digital infrastructure, shipping lines, and aviation networks cover the entire world, he noted.

The effect of a disaster in one part of the world can quickly spread across the world, Modi said, adding that cooperation is a must for ensuring the resilience of the global system.

"Just as the fight against the pandemic mobilised the energies of the world's seven billion people, our quest for resilience must build on the initiative and imagination of each and every individual on this planet," Modi said.

The International Conference on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (ICDRI 2021) is an interactive virtual conference which follows International Workshops on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) held in 2018 and 2019.

ICDRI is the annual international conference of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) in partnership with member countries, organisations and institutions to strengthen the global discourse on disaster and climate resilient infrastructure.