The 23rd ASEAN Regional Forum reviews regional cooperation on disaster relief. (Photo: VOV)

Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh co-chaired the 23rd ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-Sessional Meeting on Disaster Relief, in Colombo, Sri Lanka on June 4-5.

Participants reviewed regional cooperation on disaster relief. Amid increasingly unpredictable weather patterns and the growing frequency and intensity of natural disasters such as storms and floods, delegates agreed on the need to further strengthen regional collaboration. Priority should be given to capacity building, preparedness, risk mitigation, and improving the effectiveness of civil-military coordination in humanitarian assistance.

The Vietnamese delegation proposed several key orientations. These included strengthening coordination and cohesion among regional disaster relief mechanisms to ensure complementarity and mutual support, enhancing coordination in international relief efforts, and resuming ARF disaster response exercises. Vietnam also proposed a comprehensive assessment of the implementation of the ARF Hanoi Plan of Action II, including its disaster relief component, as a foundation for developing the next action plan.

On this occasion, representatives from the Vietnamese Ministries of National Defence; Public Security; and Agriculture and Environment presented practical experiences and best practices in emergency preparedness and disaster relief, while putting forward important recommendations to enhance regional cooperation. These contributions were welcomed and highly appreciated by participating delegates.