RCG Third Session (2017)

     

The Government of Singapore, represented by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) chaired the RCG in 2017 and hosted the RCG Third Session from 5 to 6 December 2017 at the SAF's Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Coordination Centre (RHCC). The event was organised with the support of the RCG Secretariat, represented by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), and the United States Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (US CFE-DM). The Third Session was attended by more than 130 participants from 26 countries and 24 regional/international organisations, academia and the private sector. 

RCG – Tuesday 5 December

The RCG opening session took place on Tuesday 5 December at the presence of Singapore's Permanent Secretary (Defence), Mr. Chan Yeng Kit, and Mr. Rudolf Müller, Director OCHA Geneva. In his opening remarks, Mr. Chan Yeng Kit highlighted the need for humanitarian practitioners to tap on technology to improve disaster response. He shared how the Changi RHCC has used technology as a force multiplier in Humanitarian Assistance/ Disaster Relief (HADR) efforts. Mr. Chan Yeng Kit also highlighted the need to build a strong foundation of mutual trust and interoperability between humanitarian stakeholders. Thus, Singapore's key thrust in the 2017 chairmanship of the RCG was to strengthen civil-military cooperation in the region.

Mr. Rudolf Müller, Director OCHA Geneva, stated in his opening remarks that during the First and Second Session of the Regional Consultative Group, members have started to build the unique multi-stakeholder engagement necessary for inclusive civil-military dialogue and disaster response in the Asia Pacific region. He then highlighted that under the guidance of the Government of the Philippines (2016), and the Government of Singapore (2017), RCG members had sustained and further strengthened this dialogue and ensured follow up to the outcomes of the first two Sessions.

At the end of the RCG Third Session, an official ceremony took place to mark the hand-over of the RCG Chair from the Government of Singapore (2017) to the Government of Bangladesh (2018).