Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep - Deputy Head of the National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control attended and delivered the opening speech at the conference.

The conference was attended by ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Ekkaphab Phanthavong, more than 60 international delegates who are leaders and officials of disaster prevention and control agencies of 10 ASEAN member countries, the ASEAN Secretariat, the ASEAN Regional Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disasters (AHA Center), ASEAN development partners and a number of international organizations in the region. East Timor attended the conference as an observer.

Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep delivered the opening speech at the conference.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Hoang Hiep emphasized: Carrying out the role of chair in ASEAN cooperation on disaster management, Vietnam has been promoting the theme: "From response to early action and strengthening resilience: ASEAN towards the goal of global leadership in disaster management".

This theme aims to highlight the direction of disaster management from passive response to proactive prevention. 2023 is also an important year for ACDM, marking its 20th anniversary. ACDM was established 20 years ago with members including disaster management agencies from member countries, to provide strategic direction on ways and means to strengthen disaster management in the region. Through ACDM's coordination, international cooperation on disaster management in ASEAN has achieved many achievements and reached new heights.

Delegates expressed the spirit of “One ASEAN – One Response” in cooperation on disaster management.

At the conference, delegates focused on discussing the following contents: Updating the progress of implementing the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) work program for the period 2021-2025; reviewing the progress of developing and implementing documents, mechanisms and activities on regional cooperation in disaster management such as: ASEAN Regional Strategy on Disaster Management (2023-2024); ASEAN Youth Initiative for a Disaster Resilient Region; ASEAN Disaster Risk Communication Framework; financial regulations of the ASEAN Disaster Management and Emergency Response Fund; preparing for the ASEAN Regional Disaster Emergency Response Exercise (ARDEX) 2023 in Indonesia...

Following the conference, on June 14 and 15, Vietnam will continue to chair the 18th AHA Center Management Board Meeting; the 3rd ASEAN Disaster Resilience Forum (ADRP); meetings between ACDM and regional development partners (China, Japan, and South Korea).

DINH XUAN