DDE ASSIGNED COOPERATIVE ORGANIZATION STATUS BY THE CCOP STEERING COMMITTEE
The 86th CCOP (Coordinating Committee for Geosciences in East and Southeast Asia) Steering Committee Meeting that met in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, during 7-9 April 2026 approved the proposal to grant DDE Cooperative Organization status. The proposal was made by the representative of the Chinese Geological Survey (CGS), a DDE Governing Council Member. CGS represents China in the 16 Member Countries. As a CCOP Cooperating Organization, DDE joins 18 others, including UNESCO, UN-ESCAP, Euro-Geosurveys, World Bank etc. (see: CCOP : Coordinating Committee for Geoscience Programmes in East and Southeast Asia).
The DDE Team to the 86th Steering Committee Meeting of CCOP was led by Prof. Qiuming Cheng, Chair of the DDE Executive Committee and included Dr. Natarajan Ishwaran, Secretary General and Mr. Juxin Shen, Head, International Relations, DDE Secretariat.
Group photo of all who attended the DDE-CCOP Steering Committee Business Meeting on 8 April 20206
DDE and CCOP held a business meeting with the attendance of all CCOP Steering Committee representatives, as well as the Chairperson and Vice-chairperson of the CCOP Advisory Group from 1400-1800 hrs on 8 April 2026. The full list of attendees at the meeting is at: (provide link).
DDE CCOP Steering Committee Business Meeting in progress on 8 April 2026
The meeting was convened to: (a) identify key areas of collaboration between CCOP and DDE based on the CCOP Strategic Plan (2026-2030) and DDE Strategic Framework (2025-2028), and (ii) discuss possible financing/funding mechanisms for joint initiatives and activities.
The meeting was co-Chaired by Prof. Qiuming Cheng, DDE EC Chair and Mr. Ma Yongzheng, Director, CCOP Technical Secretariat.
After opening remarks from both Chairs, Prof. Qiuming Cheng presented the DDE Strategic Framework, 2025 – 2028 highlighting scientific, technological, educational and outreach priorities. This was followed by a presentation by Dr. Ishwaran on the financing plan for the implementation of the DDE Strategic Framework. Then Dr. Ma presented a brief outline of the DDE Strategic Plan for 2026-2030
Prof. Qiuming Cheng presenting the DDE Strategic Framework 2025-2028
Dr. Natarajan Ishwaran presenting the Financing Plan for the DDE Strategic Framework 2025-2028
Mr. Ma Yongzheng presenting the CCOP Strategic Plan 2026-2030
CCOP Strategic Plan for 2026-2030 includes several priority themes and focus areas that overlap with those outlined in the DDE Strategic Framework 2025-2028. Examples include energy and minerals resources processing technologies and sustainable management; geoscience data capture, storage, integration and management, implementation of FAIR data principles and open science, degree-level education programs and geoscientific training activities.
An electronic version of the CCOP Strategic Plan is expected to be made available on the CCOP website soon.
The CCOP Steering Committee representatives engaged in discussions with Prof. Qiuming Cheng and Dr. Ishwaran on various aspects of their presentations. Delegates from the Philippines were keen to know more details of the financing mechanisms and opportunities. Delegates from Malaysia inquired about access to GeoGPT and details concerning its use. The representative of CGS provided some information on projects and activities where CGS has collaborated with DDE. The Vice-chairperson of the CCOP Advisory Group requested clarifications about the participation of institutions from different parts of the world in implementing DDE funded projects. Prof. Qiuming and Dr. Ishwaran responded to the questions and provided further clarifications on the financing plan which they said was still undergoing refinement and is expected to be finalized soon.
The meeting recommended that DDE and CCOP Technical Secretariats discuss potentials for cooperation and propose a plan of activities as well as potential joint projects for the period 2026-2028 to the 62nd session of the CCOP Annual Session scheduled to be convened in Tsukuba, Japan, during the last week of October 2026.
The DDE and CCOP Technical Secretariat will schedule a series of online meetings to develop the plan of activities and potential collaborative projects during the next 3-4 months and seek approval of the DDE EC before presenting to the CCOP Annual Session in Tsukuba, Japan.