Thailand hosts regional forum on disaster management

CHIANG MAI, January 8 (TNA) - Thailand hosts the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), the 21st of its kind, in the northern resort Chiang Mai province, in which senior officials concerned of member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) participate in discussions on regional cooperation to deal with natural disasters and to provide humanitarian assistance to any affected country. Thai Deputy Permanent Secretary for Interior M.L. Panadda Diskul chaired the opening session of the 21st ACDM in Chiang Mai on Tuesday, after which operational progress of member countries concerning strategies worked out by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre), based on a regional agreement on disaster management and response to emergency and other relevant projects, was reviewed and discussed. The meeting also discussed worrying natural disasters in the region which need coordinated efforts to cope with, including severe flooding, forest fires and cross-border haze. Thai Deputy Director-General of the Ministry of Interior's Department of the Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Anusorn Kaewkangwan, meanwhile, said that conclusions from the 21st ACDM will be forwarded to the 2nd ASEAN ministerial meeting on natural disasters, set to be held in Vietnam in April 2013, for further consideration. (TNA)