Minister for Rural and Maritime Development Sakiasi Ditoka has arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia, leading a delegation from his Ministry and the Fiji National Disaster Management Office (NDMO) for a week-long peer-to-peer exchange. This initiative is part of the Trilateral Cooperation Programme involving the governments of Indonesia, Australia, and Fiji.
Organized by the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Disaster Risk Management (SIAP SIAGA) at the request of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, the visit is designed to promote knowledge sharing and experiential learning on topics such as the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) and Indonesia’s disaster management systems.
This exchange aligns with one of the Ministry’s five Strategic Priority Areas (SPAs), which focuses on the effective coordination and facilitation of national disaster operations and disaster risk reduction. As the current chair of the Pacific Disaster Risk Management Ministers Meeting, Fiji appreciates this opportunity to learn from regional coordination mechanisms operational in Southeast Asian countries through the AHA Centre.
The Inaugural Pacific Disaster Risk Management Ministers Meeting was approved during the recently concluded 53rd Pacific Island Forum Leaders meeting in Tonga. The exchange program is currently in progress.