The 13th annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) started its agenda in Vietnam on Tuesday by a special session on tsunami disaster, calling for continued international efforts in rescue, relief and reconstruction in affected countries.

"This unprecedented natural disaster (tsunamis stroke Southeast Asian and East Asian countries on Dec. 26, 2004), needs unprecedented global response and a more predictable and reliable approach in assisting national governments to cope with such disaster, with the United Nations in the leading role," President of the Senate of Thailand, Suchon Cheleekure, said at the session.

Thailand stands ready to put up its own efforts if necessary and with the international community to set up a regional early warning system in the Indian Ocean and the Southeast Asian region, he noted.

At the session, Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Agung Laksono informed delegates about the results of the Special ASEAN Leaders' Meeting on Aftermath of the Earthquake and Tsunami held in Indonesia on Jan. 6, 2005, which focused on three major areas of concern, namely emergency relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction, and prevention and mitigation.

"In order to prevent catastrophe and mitigate the consequences it brings about, the leaders underline the importance of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) regional mechanisms on disaster prevention, the establishment of a region-wide early warning system across the Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia, the promotion of public education and awareness of disaster prevention and mitigation, and the development of human and institutional capacity in operating the system," he stressed.

The special session is to adopt a resolution on cooperation to overcome the earthquake and tsunami disaster. It will be followed by a plenary session on political and security issues, including international terrorism, the Korean Peninsula, the Middle East peace process.

At the 13th APPF meeting, which will last to Thursday, over 100delegates from 23 countries are to center their discussions mainly on tsunamis, political and security issues, economic and trade issues, Asia-Pacific cooperation in addressing regional issues of general interest, and future works of the APPF which was established in 1993.

Source: Xinhua