JMT Attends the Workshop of “Lessons Learned from Humanitarian Operations in Turkey and Syria”

JAKARTA, 18-19 September 2023 – The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre), together with the Mission of Japan to ASEAN, conducted a two-day lessons learned and experience sharing workshop in Jakarta, which focused on the humanitarian response operations to assist the victims of the earthquake that severely impacted Turkey and Syria in February this year. The workshop was joined by experts from development partners, including Japan, Australia, and the U.S.A., which provided resecure operations and relief items to the disaster-affected areas. Other participants included the members of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), relevant ASEAN Sectoral Bodies, ASEAN partners, as well as international and civil society organisations, such as UNOCHA.

At the onset of the workshop, Ambassador KIYA Masahiko of the Mission of Japan to ASEAN delivered opening remarks, underlining that the workshop is aligned with the ASEAN efforts to mainstream and implement the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) which includes disaster risk reduction and management as one of the areas of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To conclude, he reiterated the importance of coordination between and beyond regions and of getting prepared proactively for responding to disasters as they would strike at any moment without warnings.

On Day 2, JMT participated in a breakout session on building partnerships and local capacity. The session discussed strengthening partnerships with local actors, empowering local communities, and building their capacity to respond to humanitarian crises.

The project Lessons Learned from Humanitarian Operations in Turkey and Syria was supported by the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).