Taiwan hosts global delegates ahead of new World Alliance for Disaster Management launch

On Friday, Taiwan invited disaster-management officials and experts from dozens of countries to a reception in Taipei, marking the final preparations for the World Alliance for Disaster Management’s launch on Saturday. The alliance, announced by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung and Interior Minister Liu Shyh-fang, aims to coordinate governments, emergency responders, private firms, universities and civil-society groups in prevention, early warning, response and recovery efforts.

Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te envisions the National Fire Agency Training Center in Nantou County becoming a key Indo-Pacific training hub, and the country will demonstrate its capacity through large-scale earthquake drills involving teams from the United Kingdom, Germany, South Korea, Turkey, the Philippines, Timor-Leste, Fiji, Australia and Japan. Palau’s Vice President Raynold Oilouch, a founding member of the alliance, highlighted the importance of shared expertise as his nation faces its driest period in over twenty years. Delegates are set to tour the Nantou training facility on Sunday.