Ontmoeting tussen eurocommissaris Georgieva en Japanse minister Ohta over crisismanagement (en)

European Commission

Press release

Brussels, 11 November 2013

Ministerial meeting on EU-Japan cooperation in the field of disaster management

Ahead of the upcoming EU- Japan Summit, Mr. Akihiro Ohta, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) of Japan and Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, European Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, met in Tokyo on 11 November to discuss the deepening of EU - Japan cooperation in the field of disaster management. Having in mind the increasing impact of extreme weather events and severe disasters, they underlined the importance of facilitating mutual support and to learn from each other, in prevention, preparedness, response to disasters and early recovery, with specific exchanges of technical expertise and experiences to increase the resilience of societies.

They also reiterated the importance of strengthening international cooperation in disaster reduction and expressed their determination to contribute together to strengthening the Hyogo Framework for Action for disaster risk reduction.

They shared their views on the need to promote at international level strong links between the Hyogo Framework for Action and the post 2015 development agenda and to integrate disaster risk reduction strategies into sustainable development and poverty reduction policies. In this respect, they underlined the importance of the third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction to take place in Sendai, Japan in March 2015 for the revision of the Hyogo Framework for Action.

They also underlined the importance for the EU and Japan to intensify their co-operation to contribute towards promoting disaster management in the developing countries through the exchange of information and best practices.

They agreed to further strengthen the EU- Japan cooperation on disaster management and confirmed that a next expert meeting between EU and Japan will take place in Japan early 2014.

For more information

The European Commission's humanitarian aid and civil protection:

http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm

Commissioner Georgieva's website:

http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/georgieva/index_en.htm