General Ban Ki-moon urges nations across the globe to invest in disaster management to minimize the losses from natural calamities and catastrophes, while emphasizing that the regional Arab states must take the issue more seriously. Ban Ki-moon, who was in Bahrain on Sunday to launch the two-day 2009 Global Assessment Report on Disaster Risk Reduction conference, also stressed in a press conference after event's opening that all nations should understand that natural disasters can happen anywhere in the world and must be ready for disaster management. The report was launched in the presence of Bahrain's Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa Bin Sulman Al Khalifa at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Spa, at the event hosted by the Bahrain's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Effective disaster management has reduced the impacts of losses from disasters in many countries, particularly in Bangladesh, he said during the press conference. He stayed only briefly as he was expected to meet Bahraini King Hamad Bin Isa Al- Khalifa. In response to Ban Ki-moon's remarks, Bahrain's Minister for Foreign Affairs Shaikh Abdullah Bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa, cautioned the Arab world “not think that the regional countries are immune to natural disasters or calamities and that they are safe…but must understand that such unfortunate events can happen anywhere in the world anytime, and being prepared for them is the need of the hour.” The report, launched following a series of recent calamities across the world, is the first biennial global assessment of disaster risk reduction prepared by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR). The ISDR, launched in 2000, provides a framework to coordinate actions to address disaster risks at the local, national, regional and international levels.
