On the afternoon of May 11th, the China (Sichuan) ‘Belt and Road’ Regional Collaboration Workshop on Disaster Prevention and Mitigation and Second Sino-South Asia Disaster Prevention and Reduction Forum convened at SCU. The Nepalese Ambassador to China, Leela Mani Paudyal, and Deputy Director of the Sichuan Foreign Affairs Office, Shen Chao, as well as government officials, experts and scholars from Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, alongside delegates from prominent universities across China, joined the meeting. SCU Vice President Yan Shijing presided over the opening ceremony while Chairman of the University Council of SCU, Wang Jianguo, spoke on behalf of the university.

The forum lasted two days and was organized to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the Great Sichuan Earthquake of 2008. Serving as both a commemorative event and opportunity to extend international collaboration on disaster research, the invited experts and scholars spoke on topics such as the experiences of Chinese-South Asian collaboration in the field of disaster prevention; reconstruction and development efforts following the Wenchuan earthquake; and reducing the risks of disasters and collaborative emergency response efforts at the national, regional, and international levels. The forum also witnessed the establishment of the China (Sichuan)-South Asia Disaster Prevention and Mitigation University Alliance (which will promote interdisciplinary regional collaboration); created new channels and a platform for authoritative dialogue and exchange on disaster research in China and South Asia; and promoted the internationalization, integration, and standardization of disaster prevention measures nationwide and across the South Asian region.