9-10 May 2023, Hanoi: The ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre (ARMAC) and the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) have taken the initiative to organize a regional IMSMA Core workshop in Hanoi, Viet Nam, on 9-10 May 2023 with the funding support from Office for Humanitarian Assistance of the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany. This workshop is a remarkable opportunity for government officials, regional mine action authorities, and other stakeholders to exchange experiences and engage in discussions on Information Management System for Mine Action (IMSMA) Core in the region. The workshop contributes significantly to enhancing regional cooperation and coordination in mine action, with the objectives to exchange experiences from Southeast Asia regarding IMSMA Core implementation in different programmes and to identify requirements, system design and customization, testing, and as well as to integrate into the current operational environment.
The workshop also presents an opportunity for National Mine Action Authorities (NMAA) to present their Information Management system challenges and opportunities and provides participants with a general understanding of the IMSMA Core system and how to request its services, to gain knowledge about the setup, timeline, and national capacity required for the IMSMA Core implementation process. Overall, the workshop aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the IMSMA Core system, its implementation process, and the challenges and opportunities it presents for NMAAs in the ASEAN Region, in particular the landmine/ERW affected AMS.
On behalf of the Steering Committee and the Chair of ARMAC, Mr. Prum Suonpraseth, Executive Director of ASEAN Regional Mine Action Center, thanked the Donor for making this regional workshop possible, and thanked the Government of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and Viet Nam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC) for hosting the regional workshop. ARMAC ED also highlighted that the partnership between GICHD and ARMAC has grown from strength to strength following the formalization of the partnership in 2021 between the two entities.
ARMAC ED stated that the establishment of ARMAC aims to actively contributing in efforts to implement not only the ASEAN political-Security Community Blueprint 2025 but also promoting cooperation on socio-economic development issues by developing partnerships, facilitating knowledge sharing, and supporting cooperation and initiative in the regions, bringing together practitioners and subject matter experts from both inside ASEAN and around the world to make contribution to support affected countries in addressing the effect of landmine/ERW thru capacity development as we made strong effort to realize our ambitious targets of achieving a mine-free world by 2025. He further elaborated that the regional workshop on IMSMA Core represents the culmination of a rich and substantial intellectual exercise aims at helping institutional capacities and enhanced capabilities, contributing to our efforts in shaping our region and the world at peace.