The seminar was organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) in coordination with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) with support from the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR).

Deputy Minister of MARD Dao Xuan Hoc said that in recent years the Government, ministries and relevant departments have made an effort to mitigate natural disaster and cope with climate change through issuing regulations, developing disaster management projects and adopting modern technologies from around the world. Vietnam has not yet established a national forum on natural disaster mitigation and climate change, but has carried out a number of activities relating to disaster prevention.

The seminar provides Vietnam a chance to learn experiences from other countries before setting up the forum, Mr Hoc said.

According to a roadmap to set up the forum by the Disaster Management Centre (DMC), the Centre will get opinions from ministries and departments in July and report to the Government in August.

Seminar participants were keen to help Vietnam set up the forum and access information about disaster mitigation and climate change.

Jerry Velasquez, coordinator of the UNISRD in the Asia-Pacific region, praised Vietnam’s efforts in disaster prevention and dealing with climate change. He said that relevant agencies and national coordinating organizations should focus on the Hyogo action framework in the 2005-2015 period.