Representatives and experts from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and 16 countries and territories in Asia on disaster preparedness held discussions on the construction of GMAS-A.

The seminar was organized by the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), WMO, Hong Kong Observatory (HKO), Thailand Meteorological Department and Myanmar Department of Meteorology and Hydrology. The seminar was attended by 42 representatives from China, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Thailand, Mjyanmar, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, the United States of America, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Mr. YU Yong, CMA Associate Administrator, expressed the view that the construction of GMAS was an important initiative of WMO in response to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, and its concept coincides with that of the Belt and Road Initiative and the creation of a human community with a common future proposed by China. The creation of GMAS-A promotes international exchanges and coordination of disaster risk management in Asia, promoting consultation, contributions and joint benefits, and improving disaster preparedness in the region.

Dr. ZHANG Wenjian - Assistant Secretary-General of WMO stressed that GMAS is an essential component of the future global WMO system on a global scale. The global service system will be another milestone immediately after the global observing system, the global information system and the global seamless forecasting system. He expressed hope that Asian countries will be able to strengthen cooperation and achieve great success in joint promotion of GMAS-A construction

The system is now almost complete and is linked to early warning information on 7 countries and territories in Asia. During the event, Mr. Yu Yong presented the representatives of Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Mongolia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Vietnam with certificates for the use of a multilingual early warning system. During the seminar participants were able not only to study this system theoritically, but also tried to test this system in practice.