Secretary-General of ASEAN Dr. Kao Kim Hourn today delivered remarks at the Opening Session of the ASEAN Strategic Policy Dialogue on Disaster Management (SPDDM) 2024 held at the Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, in Singapore. During the Opening Session, remarks were also delivered by Minister for Digital Development and Information and Second Minister for Home Affairs of Singapore Josephine Teo; Minister of Home Affairs of Brunei Darussalam and the Chair of ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Disaster Management (AMMDM) Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Ahmaddin bin Haji Abdul Rahman; and Ambassador of the European Union to ASEAN Sujiro Seam. The SPDDM is an annual strategic flagship event of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) hosted by Singapore since 2015 and co-organised by Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF), the ASEAN Secretariat and the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre). Under the theme “It Takes a Village: Inclusive Approaches to Enhance Disaster Resilience,” the SPDDM 2024 exchanged insights and deliberated on forward-looking ideas for innovative strategies and community-led disaster solutions that are rooted in people-centred and people-oriented principles to strengthen inclusivity and build resilience in the region through multifaceted approaches.  

Remarks of H.E. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, Secretary-General of ASEAN at the Opening Session of the ASEAN Strategic Policy Dialogue on Disaster Management (SPDDM) is available here.