Twenty-six staff from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of 7 South-East Asian countires came together in Tokyo for a workshop on consular contingency planning.

The training targeted consular personnel from Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam.

A representative of Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the delegates, who included consular staff from posts in Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka. The Japanese official underlined the critical importance of contingency planning in a country as prone to natural disasters as Japan.

Participants exchanged their experiences in developing and implementing consular contingency plans, and took initial steps towards developing a concrete contingency plan for Japan. This addressed possible scenarios and impacts, roles and responsibilities to be assigned, necessary resources and capacities, emergency communications, and evacuation procedures.

Following the workshop, the Director-General of the Department of Consular and Legal Affairs of Myanmar expressed the intent to fully develop Myanmar’s contingency plan for Japan and use it as a template for the contingency plans of other Embassies and Consulates of Myanmar. Cambodia and Viet Nam equally expressed the intent to fully develop their consular contingency plans for Japan.

The workshop was supported by PRM under the IOM-PRM Asia Regional Migration Program.