The Director of the Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), Dr Chan Pak-wai, was elected with overwhelming support as a co-Vice-President of the Commission for Observation, Infrastructure and Information Systems (INFCOM) of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) at the third session of INFCOM held in Geneva, Switzerland, yesterday (April 18, Geneva time), making him the first Asian to take up a leadership position in INFCOM.
As one of the two technical commissions under the WMO, INFCOM contributes to the development and implementation of globally co-ordinated Earth system observations, data and prediction systems. INFCOM also makes recommendations to the Executive Council and the World Meteorological Congress, the highest decision-making body of the WMO, on international standards for methods, procedures, techniques and practices in meteorology and operational hydrology to be included in the Technical Regulations, Guides and Manuals.
Dr Chan said, "It is my great honour to serve as a co-Vice-President of INFCOM and contribute to the international meteorological community. I am grateful to the Central People's Government and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government for their support for my work at INFCOM. I also wish to thank members in the Commission for giving me the chance to take up this important role as well as their trust and partnership. Moving forward, I will devote my best efforts and join hands with experts in the Commission to achieve a common goal to protect lives and properties through science and innovation."
The WMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations for weather, climate, water and related environmental matters. At present, the WMO has 187 member states and six member territories, including Hong Kong, China.
Over the years, the HKO plays a significant role in various WMO activities and is highly recognised by WMO members and the Secretariat. HKO officers have been serving different roles in various technical commissions, standing committees, study groups and expert teams of the WMO. Dr Chan is currently the Permanent Representative of Hong Kong, China with WMO and he had been a co-Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Measurements, Instrumentation and Traceability of INFCOM to promote the standardisation of meteorological and related observations.
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