Vietnam plays leading role in ASEAN cooperation on disaster management

The 42nd meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) opened in Vietnam’s Da Nang City on June 13 to review the implementation of the work programme of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) for the 2021-2025 period.

The four-day event has brought together more than 60 leaders and officials of disaster prevention and control agencies of 10 ASEAN member countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center), ASEAN partners (China, the Republic of Korea, Japan) and some international organizations in the region.

Addressing the opening ceremony, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep noted that Vietnam, as ACDM Chairman in 2023, is promoting this year’s theme of ‘from response to early action and resilience: ASEAN towards global leadership in disaster management’.

This theme he said aims to reinforce the orientation in disaster management, moving from passive response to proactive prevention.

During the four-day meeting, delegates will review progress made in developing and implementing documents, mechanisms and activities on regional cooperation in disaster management, such as the ASEAN Vision 2025 on disaster management, ASEAN Youth initiative for a disaster resilient region, ASEAN disaster risk communication framework, ASEAN Disaster Management and Emergency Response (ADMER) Fund, and preparations for the ASEAN Regional Disaster Emergency Response Simulation Exercise (ARDEX) 2023 in Indonesia.

A number of related meetings will be held on June 14-15, including the 18th AHA Center governing board meeting, the third ASEAN Disaster Resilience Platform (ADRP) meeting, and meetings between ACDM and regional development partners (China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea).