The SEADRIF Council of Members (CoM) – the highest steering body comprising senior official representatives from all member Finance Ministries – convened on April 9, at the sidelines of the Finance and Central Bank Deputy Governors’ Meeting in Malaysia. The SEADRIF CoM provides overall governance and strategic direction to SEADRIF.
The 3rd SEADRIF CoM meeting was co-hosted by the Governments of Japan and Singapore.
Dr. Yoshihiro Kawai, Director of the SEADRIF Initiative and Chairman of the SEADRIF Insurance Company, delivered a comprehensive update on key developments over the past year. He highlighted the progress and results of SEADRIF, including payouts and enhancements to the flood insurance product for Lao PDR, the launch of a collaboration with the Government of the Philippines, and exploratory efforts with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to establish a regional agricultural insurance facility.
Discussions at the meeting emphasized the importance of creating an enabling environment to scale up SEADRIF’s operations effectively and enhance the region’s financial resilience against disasters. The Government of the Philippines called on members and multilateral development partners to jointly develop a proposal to strengthen SEADRIF as the risk pooling mechanism for the region.
The Government of Lao PDR acknowledged SEADRIF’s efforts in supporting the country’s disaster risk financing needs, particularly in mitigating flood-related damage. Lao PDR expressed its support to fostering greater participation from all ASEAN+3 countries in SEADRIF.
As Co-Chair of the CoM, the Government of Singapore encouraged member countries to engage with SEADRIF in knowledge sharing and the development of disaster risk financing solutions tailored to their specific needs.
