Countries & Regions

On June 2, commencing at 12:15pm for approximately one hour, a High Level Luncheon on Disaster Risk Reduction was held in Yokohama City that was jointly hosted by the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on the occasion of the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V). A number of high-level representatives joined this Session, including Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister; Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs; Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank; and Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, Chairperson of the African Union (AU); Miss Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme; with Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, serving as the Chair.

1. At the start of the Session, Prime Minister Abe referred to Japan’s experience of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and stressed the importance of disaster risk reduction, which is directly linked to human security. He also conveyed Japan’s determination to lead the efforts of the international community on disaster risk reduction, including the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which will be held in Sendai City in 2015.
2. Dr. Kim, President of the World Bank, mentioned that Africa is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of disasters and climate change, and future-proofing African development by building resilience will determine how successful they are at ending extreme poverty and creating shared prosperity. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, touched upon the importance of addressing climate change, and requested leadership of each country. Mr. Hailemariam, Chairperson of the AU, noted that we must work with the international community to develop national and local capacity to manage disaster and climate risks.
3. Lastly, Foreign Minister Kishida and Miss Clark, Administrator of the UNDP, gave remarks. Foreign Minister Kishida once again touched upon the importance of tackling climate change and disaster risk reduction with a view to achieving sustainable growth. He then affirmed that Japan would work together with the relevant parties in order to realize a resilient Africa, setting forth 2015 as a milestone year, in terms of the post-2015 development agenda, the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, and climate change negotiations. In response of this, Miss Clark, Administrator of the UNDP, mentioned that the synergy among the development Agenda, Hyogo Framework for Action and adaptation to climate change would become important forward 2015.

(Chair)
Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
(High-level officials) *In speaking order:
Mr. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan
Dr. Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank
Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations
Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, Prime minister of Ethiopia, Chairperson of the African Union (AU)
Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan
Miss. Helen Clark, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)