With the presence of over 100 delegates coming from the APEC economies, the CEO Seminar for Disaster Preparedness and Response started yesterday August 12 in Lima- Peru.Some member economies participated offering very important lectures, which helped better outline the main topic and find common points on interests for the discussion on the strategy proposal submitted by Peru. “This proposal seeks the strengthening of the region’s Response capacity through information-sharing, more use of technologies and response systematization in events of emergencies”- pointed out Major General Luis Palomino, Head of the National Institute of Civil Defense. (INDECI)

This is a very important meeting for the Peruvian government; that is why the First Vice-President of the Republic of Peru, Luis Giampietri, not only attended the session but also made a presentation on El Niño phenomenon.

It is expected that the delegates of the Asia- Pacific region define and propose action guidelines to be implemented jointly by the economies in the future. Those guidelines will provide inputs for the preparation and later approval of the “Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Preparedness and Response”. China, for instance, clearly stated that none of the Asia Pacific region economies can survive a disaster by its own.

In agreement with China´s statement, Co – Chair Quinton Devlin, who is from Australia, highlighted the importance of this Peru´s initiative, since it is in the APEC region where the highest incidence of natural disasters is recorded. “Almost 70% of natural disasters worldwide occur in the Asia- Pacific region”, he said.