ISRO’s Participation in the Thirtieth Session of the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee (ICC-30) on 26^th & 27^th October, 2026 and Fifth Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific (MC-5) on 28^th & 29^th October 2026.
Home / ISRO’s Participation in the Thirtieth Session of the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee (ICC-30) on 26^th & 27^th October, 2026 and Fifth Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific (MC-5) on 28^th & 29^th October 2026.

November 13, 2026

Indian delegation led by Dr. Jayaprakash V. Thomas, Director, EDOP, ISRO Headquarters participated in the Fifth Ministerial Conference on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific (MC-5) Organised by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP) at United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC), Bangkok, Thailand on 28^th & 29^th October 2026.

Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DoS addressed the conference, in the opening sessions, through a Video message along with the opening address by Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Executive Secretary of ESCAP and Special opening address by H.E. Mr. Yodchanan Wongsawat, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Higher Education, Science, Research, and Innovation of Thailand. In his video message Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DoS highlighted the long and successful association of ISRO with UN-ESCAP and the achievements made by Indian space fraternity in space applications for sustainable development. Chairman, ISRO/Secretary, DoS also invited ESCAP member countries to engage with Indian Space Sector Startups and Academia to advance the space sector applications for achieving sustainable development in their respective regions.

H.E. Mr. D.N. Dhungyel, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bhutan; H.E. Mr. Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation of Nepal; H.E. Ms. Gay Jane Perez, Director General of the Philippine Space Agency, the Philippines; H.E. Mr. Foisala Lilo Tuu Ioane, Minister of Land and Survey of Samoa; H.E. Mr. Nalinda Jayatissa, Minister of Health and Mass Media of Sri Lanka; H.E. Indra Mani Pandey, Secretary General, BIMSTEC; H.E. Mr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations; Ms. Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization; Ms. Aarti Holla‑Maini, Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs were also among other honourable dignitaries to address the opening session of MC-5.

Dr. Jayaprakash V. Thomas, Director, EDPO, ISRO Hq. presented the country statement on agenda ‘From Data to Action - Harnessing Space Applications for a Resilient and Inclusive Future through Enhanced Regional Cooperation’ and also apprised the conference on the ‘Progress made by India in the implementation of the Jakarta Ministerial Declaration and the Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development (2018–2030), Phase II (2022–2026)’.

On the second day of MC-5 (29^th October 2029) Dr. Jayaprakash V. Thomas, Director, EDOP participated, as invited panellist, in a High-Level Regional Dialogue ‘Sagarmatha to the Sea: Lessons from Nepal's Bhotekoshi-Trishuli Disaster for Strengthening Resilience to Cascading Hazards in Asia and the Pacific’. He highlighted the capabilities of Earth Observation missions in detecting and monitoring the precursors of cascading natural hazards in hilly terrain. He further emphasised on need for seamless integration of Space and Ground observations, on continues bases, for operational early detection and forewarning for natural disasters in the Himalayan region.

The conference also provided a platform for ISRO delegation to interact with international delegates from other space agencies, government ministries of members countries and UN offices. H.E. Mr. Biraj Bhakta Shrestha, Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation of Nepal while appreciating support by Indian Government also expressed keen interest in strengthening the co-operation, between Nepal and India, in sectors of space applications for disaster early warning in the hilly area and capacity building.

The conference concluded with adoption of the ministerial declaration on space applications for sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific, 2026 (Bangkok Declaration-2026).

Preceding to MC-5, ESCAP organised Thirtieth Session of the Intergovernmental Consultative Committee (ICC-30) on the Regional Space Applications Programme for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific (RESAP) on 26^th and 27^th October. Two officials from ISRO, Shri. Rajiv Kumar, Group Director, SR & LUMG, RSAA, NRSC and Dr. Bhaskar R. Nikam, DD, EDPO participated in ICC-30 and presented the country reports on ‘Progress in implementing the Asia-Pacific Plan of Action on Space Applications for Sustainable Development (2018–2030)’ and ‘Implementation of the Jakarta Ministerial Declaration on Space Applications for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific’. Additional delegates from NRSC/ISRO virtually participated in the side event of ICC-30 on ‘Expert Group Meeting: Harnessing Earth Observation for Agricultural Drought Resilience: Sustainable Drought Monitoring Systems in Central Asia’. Dr. V. M. Chowdary, Group Director, AS&AG, RSAA, NRSC presented India’s experience in leveraging earth observations in assessment to early warning of Agricultural drought, in this session.