About 800 delegates from more than 60 countries from Asia and Pacific Region are participating in the four-day conference. Home Minister Bhim Rawal is leading the Nepali team. [break]
CPN-UML leader and former Deputy Prime Minister KP Oli is also attending the conference. The other delegates in the Nepali team are from governmental and non-governmental sectors working the field of disaster risk reduction.
Addressing the opening session, Prime Minister for South Korea Kim Hwang Sik urged all to work in unity to reduce disaster risks and save life of millions of people.
Delivering a keynote address, Bhutanese Prime Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley stressed on the need to fight climate change and said Bhutan is preparing to host an international conference of Himalayan countries in 2011.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his video message, called for more investment for disaster mitigation, referring to Pakistan´s worst ever recent floods.
Mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City Song Young Gill and Sector Director of World Bank John Romme also underlined the need to work on disaster risk reduction, especially in Asian countries.
On the same occasion, a media workshop has also been organised to highlight the role of media in disaster mitigation. Senior journalists from Nepal, India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Singapore are Indonesia are participating in the workshop.
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