Singapore-ASEAN Collaboration on Regional Disaster Management Capacity Building
Ministry of Foreign AffairsSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim's inquiry on whether Singapore and ASEAN are exploring longer-term disaster management and climate resilience support for regional countries. Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Vivian Balakrishnan responded that Singapore actively participates in the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response to coordinate technical assistance. He noted that Singapore leads within the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management and hosts the annual ASEAN Strategic Policy Dialogue on Disaster Management for technical experts. Singapore also co-chairs the ICT Advisory Group on Disaster Management and provides capacity-building programmes on disaster risk reduction through the Singapore Cooperation Programme. These initiatives aim to enhance regional emergency preparedness and resilience against natural disasters through international partnerships and the sharing of best practices.
Transcript
28 Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs in light of the recent natural disasters in the Philippines, whether Singapore is exploring together with ASEAN, longer-term forms of support for disaster-prone countries in the region, including technical assistance, capacity-building and training in disaster management and climate resilience.
Dr Vivian Balakrishnan: Beyond the immediate humanitarian assistance that we provide bilaterally to fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, there are ASEAN mechanisms that enhance the region's emergency preparedness and resilience against natural disasters which Singapore participates actively in. This includes the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), which is a regional framework for cooperation, coordination, technical assistance and resource mobilisation in disaster management.
Singapore contributes actively to the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), which provides leadership in the implementation of the AADMER, including capacity building and sharing of best practices.
Singapore hosts the annual ASEAN Strategic Policy Dialogue on Disaster Management, which brings together senior officials and leading technical experts to address challenges in ASEAN's disaster management landscape. In addition, Singapore is the co-chair of the ICT Advisory Group on Disaster Management of the ACDM, led by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management.
Under the Singapore Cooperation Programme, Singapore conducts capacity building programmes on disaster risk reduction and climate resilience, working closely with international partners, such as the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.