1. The 17th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Inter-Sessional Meeting on Disaster Relief took place at Lotte Hotel, Seoul, on April 4, bringing together some 80 people, including delegates from the governments of 21 out of the 27 ARF member states as well as from relevant international organizations.

° The Republic of Korea (the Foreign Ministry’s Director-General for Development Cooperation Oh Hyun-joo), together with Thailand, is serving as a co-chair of the Inter-Sessional Meeting on Disaster Relief in 2017 and 2018. The ROK government delegation to the first such Meeting held in the country was comprised of officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the National Fire Agency and other government agencies related to disaster management.

2. Asia-Pacific, being the world’s most vulnerable region to disasters, is in the biggest need for cooperation among the countries in the region in responding to disasters. In the case of the ROK, which has sustained massive damage from such large-scale disasters as the recent earthquakes in Gyeongju and Pohang, the people are paying keener attention than ever to the need to build a methodical system for disaster safety management and to respond effectively to disasters in cooperation with the international community.

° At the Meeting, where it spearheaded discussions as a co-chair, the ROK government informed the other participating countries and international organizations of its nation-wide efforts to build “a society safe from disasters”; and shared with those participants their respective policies, strategies, institutions, experiences and specific relevant cases regarding disaster response. As such, the event served as a good opportunity for the ROK government to learn from the other participants how it can advance its disaster safety-related policies and systems.

° The Ministry of the Interior and Safety shared with the other participants information on the “Korea Safe-Net” system, a nationwide unified communications network for disaster safety management built on the ROK’s advanced information and communications technology (ICT), drawing interest from other participating countries.

3. The ARF Meeting covered the progress in cooperation in the region on disaster management and the way forward for the cooperation; ways to build capacity for disaster management and disaster risk reduction; new relevant issues and challenges; and the ARF Work Plan for Disaster Relief 2018-2020.

° In particular, the ROK, recognizing the need to focus on reducing disaster risks in advance, instead of on responding to disasters after they happen; on reducing socio-economic losses incurred by disasters; and on pursuing sustainable development, proposed “enhancing the connectivity between disaster risk reduction and sustainable development” as the ARF’s priority area of cooperation. The participating countries agreed to continue discussions in this regard.

4. The ARF Meeting, which the ROK hosted in its capacity as a co-chair, is seen to have contributed to the country’s efforts to implement its New Southern Policy designed to enhance its relations with ASEAN and the other countries in the region; and to enhance its diplomatic status in discussions on not only traditional but also non-traditional security issues, such as disaster response and management.

5. The outcome of the ARF Meeting will be reported at the ARF Inter-Sessional Support Group Meeting on Confidence Building Measures and Preventive Diplomacy in May, the ARF Senior Officials’ Meeting in June and the ARF foreign ministerial meeting in early August 2018.

6. The ARF was launched in 1994 to enhance mutual trust and understanding through dialogue on key political and security issues and thereby to build peace and stability in the region. This largest consultative mechanism on security in the Asia-Pacific region seeks substantive cooperation on confidence building and preventive diplomacy in the areas of disaster relief; non-proliferation and disarmament; maritime security; counter-terrorism and transnational crimes; and ICT security.

* unofficial translation