The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that on the morning of March 30, at the request of Malaysia and ASEAN Chair 2025, ASEAN Foreign Ministers had an urgent meeting online to discuss the work to overcome the consequences of the earthquake that occurred on March 28 in Myanmar and Thailand.
Authorized by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son, Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet, Head of SOM ASEAN-Vietnam, attended the Conference.
The conference heard the Foreign Ministers of Thailand and Myanmar updated on the damage after the earthquake.
In Myanmar alone, according to official statistics as of the morning of March 30, 1,644 people have died, hundreds of buildings and infrastructure have collapsed or been severely damaged, including many hospitals, infrastructure works, office buildings, etc.
Even the Myanmar Foreign Ministry headquarters in Naypyidaw was damaged and unsafe, forcing officials to work outdoors.
Expressing their deep sympathy and condolences to Myanmar and Thailand, ASEAN countries strongly affirmed their solidarity and commitment to stand side by side with Myanmar and Thailand in overcoming and mitigating the consequences, damage and recovery after the disaster.
Some ASEAN countries have announced that they have or are planning to send humanitarian aid and rescue teams to Myanmar to participate in search and rescue work.
Reporting at the Conference, the ASEAN Secretary General and the Executive Director of the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance (AHA Center) said that after the earthquake occurred, ASEAN immediately deployed many initial support mechanisms and measures, including activating the emergency response mechanism, sending teams of experts to Myanmar to directly assess the situation, and preparing essential aid items from regional reserve warehouses to be delivered to Myanmar...
On this occasion, many ASEAN countries have called on the parties in Myanmar to stop acts of violence, facilitate relief work, including ensuring safe transportation of humanitarian aid to affected areas, thereby creating a basis for dialogue and mediation to focus on the cause of national recovery and reconstruction.
Speaking at the Conference, Deputy Foreign Minister Do Hung Viet conveyed his deepest condolences from the Government and people of Vietnam to Thailand and Myanmar, affirming that Vietnam will stand side by side with the two countries to overcome the current difficulties.
In the immediate future, Vietnam is urgently preparing to provide Myanmar with many essential goods and supplies, and deploying more than 100 officers and soldiers from the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam to Myanmar to participate in rescue work, expected on March 30.
With ASEAN, the Deputy Minister emphasized that ASEAN needs to affirm its central role in coordinating special efforts in times of difficulties and challenges; accordingly, ASEAN needs to promote and effectively utilize existing mechanisms and tools, especially the AHA Center and the ASEAN General Secretary, to effectively mobilize and coordinate resources, including those of ASEAN and its partners, thereby supporting the work of overcoming and recovering from natural disasters.
ASEAN also needs to continue to closely coordinate with Myanmar to develop a long-term recovery and reconstruction plan.
On this occasion, the Deputy Minister also called on all parties in Myanmar to take responsibility in ensuring that humanitarian aid is carried out safely, without obstruction and reaches all affected people.
In particular, this could also be an opportunity for the parties in Myanmar to together end all acts of violence and put aside disagreements, thereby joining hands to participate in relief work, towards the cause of national recovery and reconstruction, bringing peace, stability and development to the people of Myanmar.
