The forum attracted the participation of officials from central and local Committees for Flood and Storm Prevention and representatives from 20 provinces and cities and various international organisations.

Speaking at the forum, Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai expressed his thanks to the UN secretariat, the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and other UN organisations for their assistance in organising the forum.

The Deputy Prime Minister also emphasised that Vietnam should attach great importance to preventive measures, make good use of the resources donated by the state, community, and international and domestic organisations and individuals. The country should integrate measures to deal with natural disasters into its socio-economic development plans.

MONRE Minister Pham Khoi Nguyen said that the National Strategy for Disaster Prevention, Response and Mitigation until 2020 focuses on improving the infrastructure of the meteorology and hydrography service and increasing their ability to forecast storms and floods.

Statistics shows that in Vietnam, natural disasters annually kill about 400 people and cause damage worth 1-1.5 percent of the country’s GDP.