Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty will travel to Brisbane today to represent Aotearoa New Zealand at the 2022 Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.
“This conference is one of the most important meetings in the Asia-Pacific region to progress disaster risk reduction efforts and increase cooperation between like-minded countries,” Minister McAnulty said.
“With the severity and frequency of emergencies increasing due to climate change, it is more important than ever that countries work together to promote resilience and reduce risk.”
While in Brisbane, Minister McAnulty will hold bilateral meetings with ministerial counterparts from the Asia-Pacific region.
He will also sign a Memorandum of Cooperation between New Zealand’s National Emergency Management Agency and the newly formed Australian National Emergency Management Agency.
The Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction is hosted by the Australian Government and convened by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction.
The conference is expected to attract up to 3,000 delegates from more than 40 countries including ministers, government officials, representatives of the private sector, not-for-profits, civil society, and vulnerable groups.
Mr McAnulty will be joined by a New Zealand delegation including representatives from the National Emergency Management Agency, universities and the private sector.