JAKARTA, 16 October 2020 – Secretary-General of ASEAN Dato Lim Jock Hoi, who is also the ASEAN Humanitarian Assistance Coordinator, has written a letter of condolences on October 15 2020 to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam Pham Binh Minh, as well as Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Nguyen Xuan Cuong, for the loss of life and damages caused by Tropical Storms LINFA and NANGKA in Central Provinces of Viet Nam.
In an Executive Briefing on the Tropical Storms organised by the AHA Centre, Dato Lim also conveyed to Viet Nam the region’s readiness to assist in their relief and recovery efforts.
“Guided by the spirit of the ASEAN Declaration on ‘One ASEAN, One Response’, we are prepared to provide support through established regional mechanisms, in bolstering the humanitarian relief efforts and facilitate the recovery of the affected communities,” said Dato Lim in his remarks.
Viet Nam called for emergency relief and support on 13 October 2020, due to the tropical storms.
Dato Lim acknowledged that the disaster struck at a difficult time as ASEAN is still responding to and recovering from the impacts of COVID-19.
He also recognised the transboundary impacts of Tropical Storms LINFA and NANGKA on neighbouring countries Cambodia and Lao PDR, and expressed his sympathies to the affected.
In this regard, Dato Lim expressed caution for the spillover effects in the countries in the Mekong region.
The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) has been monitoring the situation in the Viet Nam closely and disseminating flash updates regularly.
In close coordination with the Viet Nam Disaster Management Authority, the AHA Centre has advised ASEAN Member States and external partners on most needed relief assistance at this stage.
The AHA Centre is part of ASEAN’s commitment to strengthen collective response to disasters and to reduce disaster losses, under the legally-binding agreement, the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response.
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