Colombo, Sri Lanka. On April 1, A-PAD Sri Lanka hosted an international symposium on disaster assistance in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Over 200 participants gathered including representatives from the Sri Lankan government, the private sector, CSOs, and A-PAD (Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Philippines). The participants discussed the importance of partnership when responding to disasters. At the symposium, Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Mr. Sugiyama and a Sri Lankan Navy Commander gave a speech and highlighted strategies on public-private partnerships in disaster management.

In addition to the symposium, the Sri Lankan Navy and private rescue teams held joint drill exercises. The training was aimed to strengthen the capacity of salvage operations.

The videos above are from Sri Lankan broadcaster “News 1st.” As a keen partner of A-PAD, News 1st has supported A-PAD’s disaster assistance and disaster risk reduction activities.