The first Ministerial Conference on the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for Africa and Asia held in New Delhi.  The meeting is being attended by Ministers/Ambassadors/ Representatives of RIMES Member States.

RIMES owes its existence to a proposal by the Royal Thai Government to the Special ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting on 6th January 2005 and subsequently to the Phuket Ministerial Meeting on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangement in January 2005, to establish a tsunami early warning system in a multi-hazard framework for Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean.  For the last 3-years, RIMES has been built as an international and intergovernmental institution owned by the member countries, to operate and manage regional early warning arrangements through suitable financial mechanisms for sustaining its activities.

Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES), consists of Afghanistan, Armenia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Comoros, India, Kenya, Lao PDR, Maldives, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Uzbekistan.

The objective of the meet was to build and sustain RIMES institutional and core operational  activities through voluntary country contributions and mobilize financial support for implementation of the targeted activities of the RIMES Master Plan.