The Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism signed a memorandum of understanding to renew a cooperation agreement on natural disaster management by 2016 at a seminar in Hanoi. Under the pact, the two sides will develop a framework for dialogue on responding to climate change and strengthening prevention capacity against natural disasters via building better early warning systems. At the event, Japanese delegates shared their experiences in developing disaster-resilient infrastructure and lessons learnt from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami as well as proposed solutions on managing natural disaster risks stemming from floods and collect related data in Vietnam. Vietnam is one of the countries most vulnerable to natural disasters in Southeast Asia due to its geography. The country is estimated to suffer five to six typhoons per year. In the last decade, the number of people killed and missing in natural calamities has been falling thanks to the government's efforts in coping with global warming. But, climate change has created extreme weather, resulting in losses equivalent to 1.5% of the country’s GDP. (http://vtc.vn [1] Sept 13)
