Myanmar hosted the ninth meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) Working Group on Preparedness, Response and Recovery and related meetings in Yangon yesterday.

Deputy Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement U Soe Kyi said the meeting is an implementation of the commitment of ACDM to enhance disaster preparedness, response and recovery in the ASEAN region.

Over the past decade, ASEAN has shifted from focusing on politics and economics to focusing on socioeconomic development and disaster management.

Like other ASEAN member states, Myanmar enacted the Disaster Management Law and Regulations in 2013 and 2015 respectively to ensure effective and rapid disaster management activities. The ACDM also redrafts the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Programme and the work committee members should draft the work programmes that can be implemented practically based on the resources of the member countries and the region.

The meeting was attended by the co-chairs of the Working Groups from Myanmar, Malaysia and Singapore, representatives from the Working Group member states, Brunei Darussalam, Laos, the Philippines and Thailand, representatives from the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Centre (AHA Centre), and representatives from Indonesia and Timor Leste as observers. The meetings will be held for two days.

MNA/KTZH

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