India, represented by Surveyor General of India, IAS officer Mr. Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana, has been elected as the Co-Chair of the Regional Committee of the United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP).
The elections were held during the fourteenth Plenary Meeting of UN-GGIM-AP from September 24 to 26, 2025, in Goyang-si, Republic of Korea. The event was hosted by the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII). It brought together delegates from member countries, technical experts, and observers to discuss regional priorities, progress reports, and future plans in geospatial information management.
Mr. Makwana highlighted India’s commitment to promoting geospatial innovation, capacity building, and regional cooperation during the upcoming three-year term. He said that India will focus on leadership, secure digital transformation, good governance, inclusivity, and data-driven decision-making, while strengthening partnerships across the Asia-Pacific region.
India’s election as Co-Chair shows its growing global leadership in geospatial information management and will help the country play a stronger role in shaping regional policies and strategies for effective geospatial governance.
About UN-GGIM-AP
The Regional Committee of United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management for Asia and the Pacific (UN-GGIM-AP) is one of the five regional committees of the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).
It was initially established in 1995 as the Permanent Committee on GIS Infrastructure for Asia and the Pacific (PCGIAP) in accordance with the resolution adopted at the Thirteenth UN Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific in 1994, and rebranded as UN-GGIM-AP in 2012, subsequent to the establishment of UN-GGIM in 2011.
As the representing body of the National Geospatial Information Authority of 56 countries and economies in Asia and the Pacific region, the UN-GGIM-AP aims to promote the use of geospatial information for identifying problems and finding solutions, so that the economic, social and environmental benefits of geospatial information will be maximized in Asia and the Pacific region.
