Strengthening hydrometeorological services in Southeast Asia was the topic of a UN-sponsored seminar held in Hanoi on Mar. 11 with focus on five countries, including Vietnam.

The seminar focussed on a project to raise the capacity of hydrometeorological forecasting through technical programmes, technology transfer and personnel training.

Addressing the seminar, Dr. Bui Van Duc, General Director of the National Centre for Hydrometeorology Forecasting, stated that the project would not only help the targeted countries, but also help boost cooperation among member countries of the World Meteorological Organisation in the region.

Vietnam supports the project’s ideas and will closely coordinate with the project’s working group, Duc said.

Vietnam is among those countries in the region that have faced the worst impacts with a great loss of life and property from climate-change related disasters in recent years.
The Vietnamese Government has made great efforts to improve its capacity in meteorology, especially through the modernisation of its forecasting systems, which have effectively helped control natural disasters and mitigate losses.

Under the framework of cooperation among members of the World Meteorological Organisation in Southeast Asia , Vietnam is helping Laos and Cambodia in this field.

Participants to the seminar offered up opinions and plans to improve the capacity of hydrometeorological services through evaluating natural disasters, the needs of affected residents, and the capacity and efficiency of hydrometeorological agencies./.