Taipei: Taiwan welcomed disaster management officials and experts from around the world Friday ahead of the launch of a new international alliance aimed at strengthening disaster preparedness and response. Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang jointly hosted a dinner in Taipei for delegates to the World Alliance for Disaster Management (WADM), ahead of its official launch Saturday.
According to Focus Taiwan, the WADM will bring together governments, emergency response agencies, businesses, academic institutions, and civil society groups to cooperate throughout the disaster management cycle, Lin said. The alliance will facilitate professional training, information sharing, capacity building, joint exercises, and practical exchanges in disaster prevention, early warning, emergency response, and post-disaster recovery, he added.
"Disasters and risks know no borders, and we need to work together to build resilience to these challenges," Lin stated, emphasizing the global cooperative effort required to tackle such issues. The WADM builds on President Lai Ching-te's vision of transforming the National Fire Agency Training Center in Nantou County into a major disaster response training hub for the Indo-Pacific.
Liu highlighted Taiwan's experience of receiving international assistance after the deadly 1999 Jiji earthquake, underscoring the importance of cross-border disaster cooperation. Taiwan now conducts large-scale earthquake response drills annually and is prepared to offer international partners high-standard professional training at the Nantou center.
This year's exercises included search-and-rescue teams from the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Fiji, as well as disaster medical teams from Australia and Japan, Liu noted.
Palau Vice President Raynold Oilouch, speaking at the dinner, expressed pride in his country being a founding member of the WADM. Palau, facing vulnerabilities to typhoons, tsunamis, and droughts, is currently experiencing its driest conditions in more than two decades. Oilouch stressed that the expertise brought together through the WADM could provide valuable guidance as Palau prepares for potentially catastrophic drought conditions.
Delegates are scheduled to visit the National Fire Agency Training Center on Sunday, further solidifying Taiwan's role in fostering global disaster management collaboration.