Asia Pacific Alliance for Disaster Management (A-PAD) hosted two symposiums in Seoul: “HOW TO SAVE LIVES: The Cooperation beyond borders and sectors” (sponsored by Sasakawa Peace Foundation) on October 22nd, and “International Symposium on Disaster Management in the Asia Pacific Region” (co-hosted by National Diet Social Contribution Forum) on the following day.

On October 22nd, the inauguration of “Korean National Platform,” which is a mechanism to enhance cooperation among the NGO, business, and public sectors, was declared. The speakers of the symposium included Mr. Young-Jin Park, the Chairman of Korean National Platform, Mr. Kensuke Onishi, the President of A-PAD, and Ms. Junko Chano, the Executive Director of Sasakawa Peace Foundation. They articulated the history of A-PAD and emphasized its roles in disaster management.

Diet members from Japan and Korea discussed “the necessity of Asia Pacific Parliamentary Association for effective disaster management” in the symposium on 23rd.

A-PAD also organized “the preparation roundtable to establish diet member forum” to enhance cross-border collaboration in a disaster, inviting Mr. Yasuhisa Shiozaki, the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare. Mr. Shiozaki mentioned that “it is necessary to build relationships among diet members from different countries to enable an effective mutual cooperation in disaster management” and declared the inauguration of “Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum for Disaster Management.” The attendees of the roundtable included Mr. Shunsuke Mutai and Mr. Masatoshi Akimoto, members of the House of Representatives, and Mr. Kohjiro Takano, a member of the House of Councilors.

“Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum for Disaster Management” plans to host study sessions and symposiums and support multi-sector activities to strengthen the parliamentary association that enables prompt and effective disaster response.

Mr. Taro Kono, the Minister of State for Disaster Management, sent a message to the symposium that “I appreciate that Japan and Korea leads A-PAD, which encourages disaster preparedness of companies and NGOs in Asia and enables cooperation when a disaster strikes, and hope for its future success.”

A-PAD continues to enhance cooperation with Japanese and Korean platforms as well as other member countries and promotes the activities of the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum.