The General Secretariat of the League of Arab States (Housing, Water Resources, and Disaster Reduction Department) will convene the Seventh Session of the Arab Coordination Mechanism for Disaster Risk Reduction from 14 to 16 October in Manama. The meeting will be hosted by the Kingdom of Bahrain, with the participation of several Arab, regional, and international organisations specialised in disaster risk reduction.
His Excellency Ambassador Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Maliki, Assistant Secretary-General and head of the Economic Affairs Sector, asserted the importance of the meeting, the agenda of which includes several topics related to monitoring natural disasters, following up on the implementation of the Arab Strategy for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the Arab Roadmap for Preparedness and Response to Nuclear and Radiological Emergencies. The meeting will also witness the launch of an Arab project on marine disasters and their mitigation.
Among the issues to be discussed are: selecting the theme for the 2026 Arab Day for Disaster Reduction; examining a proposal to establish an Arab Programme for Agricultural Disaster Risk Reduction; developing a map of the Arab region to enhance and modernise curricula in the field of disaster risk reduction; and discussing the establishment of an Arab Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, along with several other key topics aimed at strengthening Arab cooperation and regional integration in this critical area.
The meeting is being held in light of the significant repercussions facing the Arab region as a result of climate and environmental changes and severe natural disasters that have led to rising rates of desertification, forest fires, and water scarcity, among other environmental challenges. These are compounded by humanitarian crises, including armed conflicts affecting the Middle East and North Africa, making the Arab region among the most vulnerable to these complex and interrelated challenges.
