Ambassador Jaime Victor B. Ledda joined other high-level panelists in a forum on disaster preparedness held at the European Parliament in Brussels on 18 February 2025.

The forum was organized by the EU Commissioner for Equality; Preparedness and Crisis Management Ms. Hadja Lahbib, along with Members of European Parliament (MEPs) Barry Andrews, Wouter Beke, Gregory Allione and Pascal Arimont. The panel also featured Special Representative Mr. Kamal Kishore of the Office of the UN Undersecretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction (UN DRR) and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Chief of Staff Mr. Christopher Rassi.

Focusing on the lessons learned from the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, the panelists reflected on the achievements over the past 20 years in EU and ASEAN on disaster preparedness and response, the current state of cooperation between the two regions, and ways forward to strengthen EU-ASEAN collaboration on DRR.

Speaking as the current Chair of the ASEAN Brussels Committee, Ambassador Ledda highlighted the significant progress made by ASEAN in institutionalizing frameworks and mechanisms for DRR cooperation. Ambassador Ledda likewise recognized the ongoing cooperation between the EU and ASEAN in building both national and regional DRR capacities, noting in particular the active partnerships between the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) and the AHA Centre.

The panelists from the European institutions and international humanitarian organizations commended ASEAN’s stature as a global leader in DRR knowledge and innovation.