The ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) entered into force on Thursday, after being ratified by all its ten member states, a statement from ASEAN Secretary said.

The agreement contains provisions on disaster risk identification, monitoring and early warning, prevention and mitigation, preparedness and response, rehabilitation, technical cooperation and research, mechanisms for coordination, and simplified customs and immigration procedures.

AADMER is the region's response to the need to establish a regional disaster management framework.

"AADMER is one of the fastest-negotiated agreements in ASEAN' s history, having gone through a mere four months of negotiations," the Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan said.

"The entry into force of AADMER is a remarkable progress for ASEAN in its joint effort in responding to disasters happening in the region and in reducing disaster risks more effectively," he said.

The region was hit by tsunami in December 2004, leaving more than 200,000 people dead.

AADMER also provides the establishment of an ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre) to undertake operational coordination of activities under the Agreement.

The agreement was signed by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers in July 2005. Since then, ASEAN has put in place measures to implement many provisions under the Agreement. Under the purview of a specialized ASEAN body called the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM), standard operating procedure, training and capacity building, disaster information sharing and communication network, rapid assessment team have been set up or put into practice.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.