Thailand and the Republic of Korea will co-host the ASEAN Regional Forum Disaster Relief Exercise (ARF DiREx) 2013 in Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand, during 7 – 11 May 2013.

The Opening Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, 7 May, at the Royal Dusit Grand Ballroom, Dusit Thani Hua Hin Hotel, Cha-am, starting at 14.30 hrs. H.E. Mr. Plodprasop Suraswadi, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand, and H.E. Mr. Bong-hyun Kim, Deputy Minister for Multilateral and Global Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, will preside over the opening ceremony as co-hosts of the ARF DiREx 2013. Afterwards, Mr. Plodprasop and Mr. Kim will co-host a welcome dinner at 18.30 hrs. at the same venue.

The ARF DiREx 2013 will showcase Thailand’s commitment and active role in disaster management. Bringing together about 1,200 civilian and military representatives from ARF member countries, the exercise serves as a platform for networking and exchange of expertise and best practices among ARF members and relevant international agencies. Participating countries include the ten ASEAN Member States, Australia, Canada, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Russia, the United States, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, and the European Union. Regional and international agencies, including the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance and disaster management (AHA Centre), United Nations Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), World Health Organization, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC), and Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat (TCS) will attend as observers.