Tenth Arab Partnership Meeting for Disaster Risk Reduction gathers 19 Arab countries in Kuwait
February 21-22, 2024 | Kuwait, Kuwait - The United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) Regional Office for Arab States, in collaboration with Kuwait State’s Fire Force, successfully organized the Tenth Arab Partnership Meeting for Disaster Risk Reduction from 21–22 February in Kuwait City. The event served as a platform for representatives from 19 Arab countries, DRR stakeholders, and regional UN agencies to convene and discuss the progress and challenges in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction in the region.
In his opening speech, Colonel Dr. Meshari Al Faras, State of Kuwait Fire Force, expressed his pleasure in hosting 18 out of 22 countries of the Arab states and extended a warm welcome to all the participants, including National Sendai Framework Focal Points, representatives of meteorological entities, finance departments, local governments, members of the Arab stakeholder groups for DRR, representatives of regional UN and international organizations, and the League of Arab States.
Zahi Chahine, UNDRR ROAS Chief of Office, acknowledged Kuwait for its leadership in hosting not only two Arab Partnership meetings but also the Regional Platform for disaster risk reduction. He emphasized that Kuwait's leadership sets a remarkable example and paves the way for other countries to follow suit.
During the two-day meeting, the participants will focus on consultations on the Prioritized Action Plan for DRR 2025-2027. Stakeholder groups will have the opportunity to discuss their progress and outline the next steps in fulfilling their voluntary action commitments. Additionally, the governments will delegate their representatives to be part of the drafting team, which will work on a declaration for disaster risk reduction called the Kuwait Declaration on Disaster Risk Reduction, based on the Prioritized Action Plan and key priority topics. The meeting will also be engaged in consultations to prepare for the Sixth Arab Regional Platform for DRR in 2024, which will also be hosted by the Kuwait Government in October 2024.
Participants will be engaged in consultations to prepare for the Sixth Arab Regional Platform for DRR in 2024 that will be also hosted by Kuwait Government in October 2024.
The Tenth Arab DRR Partnership Meeting will advance the implementation of the Sendai Framework through regional collaboration on priority issues. It underscored the importance of multi-stakeholder cooperation to build disaster resilience.