Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs Amrin Amin Led Singapore Delegation to ASEAN Talks on Disaster Management

16 December 2015, Singapore " Parliamentary Secretary for Home Affairs, Mr Amrin Amin, led a Singapore delegation, comprising officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) to attend the 3^rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management and the 4^th Meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP) to the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER), in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on 16 December 2015.

 

The ASEAN Ministers discussed the progress of the AADMER Work Programme over the past five years and strategies for the AADMER Vision 2025 to form a disaster-resilient and safer ASEAN community. Parliamentary Secretary Amrin expressed Singapore"s commitment to this effort. In his speech, Parliamentary Secretary Amrin said that "Singapore remains committed to contribute to the capacity building efforts of the Member States in disaster response and will continue to actively undertake activities under the AADMER Work Programme beyond 2015." At the meeting, Parliamentary Secretary Amrin met with key ASEAN Ministers and Heads of Delegations in charge of disaster management. In addition, Parliamentary Secretary Amrin met with His Excellency Prum Sokha, Cambodian Secretary of State, Ministry of Interior. They affirmed the good bilateral relations between the two countries and discussed the domestic challenges faced by Cambodia.

 

The SCDF, representing Singapore at the working-level, leads several Working Groups under the AADMER and has played a key role in the establishment of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Centre). The AHA Centre, which is an operational coordination body, aims to enhance the region"s resilience against disasters. The AHA Centre hopes to provide faster emergency response, foster better coordination and develop effective resource mobilisation through the One ASEAN One Response strategy. This would involve collaboration between various stakeholders in ASEAN, including the private sector and civil society organisations.

 

In his speech, Parliamentary Secretary Amrin noted that the SCDF had conducted the inaugural ASEAN Senior Executive Programme on Leadership in Disaster Management last month and will be organising it annually. The programme servestonurture the disaster management planning capacities of the ASEAN senior leadership at both at the strategic and policy levels. This will contribute to enhancing ASEAN"s in-country and regional safety developments.

 

Read the speech by Parliamentary Secretary Amrin