Union Minister Dr. Win Myat Aye poses for documentary photo with attendees of the 34th Meeting of ASEAN Committee
on Disaster Management and its Related Meetings.

The ASEAN anthem was first played and the meeting was opened with a speech by Dr. Win Myat Aye, the Union Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement.
In his speech, the Union Minister said ASEAN countries value close relations and cooperation among each other and ASEAN has existed with these two principles for over 40 years. He expressed his condolence to the victims of the recent earthquakes in the Philippines. He said records show that there were 1,604 disasters over the ASEAN region between 2012 to 2019.
While the ASEAN region is easily prone to disasters, international experts have pointed out that Indonesia, the Philippines and Myanmar, who are most susceptible to disasters, have noticeably raised their ability to respond to them, said the Union Minister.
He said Myanmar always cooperates with between relevant organizations at home, in the region, and around the world with managing disasters. He said it is an honour for Myanmar to host the ASEAN meetings and expressed his belief that the meetings, which will be conducted over the course of three days, will produce beneficial results that will make the ASEAN community more resilient to disasters.
Another separate speech followed the Union Minister, by the Mandalay Region Minister for Natural Resources and Environment. He said Mandalay Region has numerous cultural heritages with a prestigious history and it is important to protect them from disasters.
He said authorities are writing up necessary procedures to counter the frequent disasters in Mandalay Region and are also implementing them on the ground. He said preventive measures against disasters require the cooperation of civil society organizations as well.
This was followed by a speech from Mr. Kung Phoak, the Deputy Secretary-General of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, after which everyone took a documentary photo together.
Afterwards, a UNESCAP study titled – ‘Ready for the Dry Years: Building Resilience to Drought in South-East Asia’ – was launched.
The 34th Meeting of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management and its related meetings are scheduled from 24 to 26 April. High-level representatives of ASEAN countries, the Office of the ASEAN Secretary-General, the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), ASEAN+3 countries, and various organizations under the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community are attending the meetings. —MNA