ASEAN disaster control officials meet in Cambodia to enhance cooperaiton

Disaster management officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) gathered here Tuesday to discuss ways to promote regional cooperation in response to disasters, a senior Cambodian official said.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 26th meeting of ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management, Nhim Vanda, 1st vice-president of the National Committee for Disaster Management, said the gathering marked the continuity of ASEAN's solidarity and commitment in making its peoples and communities safe and resilient to disasters and climate change. "ASEAN is a dynamic regional bloc, not only a potentially economic region, but also a natural disaster-prone region," he said. "We have faced most of the world disaster events, shouldered most of the losses, and bore most of the pain that caused by disasters. Now, our region is rich enough in experience, knowledge and know-how to deal with disasters."

He said the 3-day meeting was a good opportunity for the officials to explore pragmatic approaches and measures to strengthen regional cooperation in disaster management.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Enditem