KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — Environmental activist S. Mogesh, 25, was awarded the Asean-India Youth Awards 2023 at the 4th Asean-India Youth Summit held in Hyderabad, Telangana, India, from February 12 to February 16.
In a statement today, Mogesh said the award was presented to him by Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and India’s External Affairs Minister as well as Education Minister Rajkumar Ranjan Singh in the valedictory session, at the summit.
He received the award based on his achievements, leadership role, contributions and impact on society from his advocacy work and active participation throughout the summit.
Mogesh, a second-year Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) student in Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering at Universiti Putra Malaysia, previously received the Diana Award 2021 in the United Kingdom which recognises the involvement and contributions of youth in community and humanitarian work.
He is also the first Malaysian to be named a Commonwealth Youth Award finalist in 2021.
Meanwhile, Mogesh said more than 160 youth leaders from various backgrounds had been selected to participate in the summit to explore new initiatives in enhancing physical, economic, digital and socio-cultural relations between Asean and India in order to strengthen the Asean-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
Apart from Mogesh, the Malaysian delegation at the summit, organised by the India Foundation in collaboration with the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Asean Secretariat, comprised Mohd Hisyamuddin Basabah, R. Loshenavane, G. Loshseni, Clerie Olivia Fadrick and Yanitha Meena Louis.
In his presentation at the conference, Mogesh highlighted two specific challenges shared between Malaysia and India including disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation and mitigation as well as Malaysia’s actions in placing food security as one of the country’s main agendas.
“This is especially to ensure the continuity of the regional and global food supply chain which is seen as an opportunity to deepen Asean-Malaysia-India cooperation through new and existing mechanisms such as India’s Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative,” he added.
— Bernama
