KUCHING: Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak and Special Affairs), Datuk Wilson Ugak Kumbong led the Malaysian delegation to attend the 11th Asean Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management, 19th Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Asean Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) and related meetings.
In a press statement issued by the National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) on Thursday (Oct 12), AADMER is a legally valid regional agreement and for that, countries have an obligation to promote regional cooperation to build resilience, reduce losses due to disasters and intensify response to disasters collectively.
The Asean Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management (AMMDM) is the highest disaster management body at the Asean level and is made up of Asean ministers who are responsible for disaster management.
“It becomes a platform to get consideration and approval for disaster risk reduction programs and activities, disaster management and emergency response jointly at the Asean level. Referring to Article 21: AADMER, the establishment of the Conference of the Parties (COP) aims to monitor, evaluate the implementation and review the matters in the agreement,” the statement said.
“The 11th Meeting of AMMDM is held consecutively with the 43rd Meeting of the Asean Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) and related meetings held on
Oct 9 to 11 in Ha Long, Vietnam.
“The Malaysian delegation to the 43rd ACDM Meeting was led by the Deputy Director-General (Policy), National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA) and accompanied by two NADMA officers.
“In the 11th AMMDM Meeting, Ugak delivered a Ministerial Statement on the theme “From Response to Anticipatory Action and Resilience” to emphasise the need to take proactive steps in managing disaster risk following the dynamic changes in disaster risk today and the importance of building communities that are resilient to disaster,” the statement read.
The participation of the Malaysian delegation to these meetings is a manifestation of Malaysia’s commitment to collectively work together with other Asean member countries to formulate initiatives and efforts to reduce disaster risk, manage disasters and emergency response in the Asean region which is one of the most vulnerable areas to disasters in the world.
Malaysia’s participation is important because the ACDM, AMMDM and COP meetings are a platform to discuss issues of disaster risk reduction, disaster management and humanitarian aid response at the regional and international levels, updating actions including the monitoring of the AADMER framework, the operation of “One Asean One Response” under the AHA Centre, Asean Partnerships on Disaster Management and the reporting of each Working Group under the ACDM.
The statement noted that it is also important in ensuring that the national interest in all the issues discussed can be preserved and defended in line with the country’s current priorities and policies.
