The Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres, and the Secretary General of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Mathias Cormann, held a working meeting in Madrid today to advance the plans of the project “From crisis to recovery: strengthening regional resilience in the face of disasters”. The International Conference, jointly organized by the Ministry and the OECD as part of this initiative, will take place in Valencia in March 2026.
The Conference, lasting one and a half days, will bring together public officials, experts and professionals from countries that in recent years have faced disasters and climate emergencies, such as Germany, Belgium, the United States, Greece, Japan or Turkey, as well as specialists in the academic field. The aim will be to promote peer learning and exchange of experiences to improve natural disaster risk management, response mechanisms, coordination between different levels of government and long-term resilience.
Minister Ángel Víctor Torres stressed that “climate change is a reality that obliges us, as a society, to have better instruments of prevention, preparation, response and recovery in the face of natural and climatic disasters that we are already suffering. It is a global phenomenon, and that is why the exchange of experiences between countries is essential to give more guarantees of protection. We talk about anticipating and responding, but also about how misinformation can affect the management of an emergency. That is why the International Conference that we organised together with the OECD will be very useful. I’m sure.”
OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said: “Disasters are becoming more complex and more costly for OECD countries and regions and beyond. We are working with Spain to advance the preparations for this important international conference in Valencia and to launch our new OECD Platform on Regional Resilience to Disasters. The Platform will help countries share practical experiences and strengthen their policies to improve preparedness, accelerate recovery and achieve more resilient regions and cities.”
The discussions will address key issues such as planning and early response, combating misinformation and misinformation during emergencies or protecting vulnerable people.
A special session will analyze the lessons learned from the DANA of Valencia in 2024, as a case study, identifying good practices and areas of improvement in prevention, mitigation and reconstruction policies.
The Conference will also formalize the official launch of the OECD Platform on Regional Resilience to Disasters, a new international community aimed at facilitating continued cooperation between member and non-member countries, regions, cities and experts on prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. Spain will assume the inaugural presidency of the Platform during its first year, in a determined impulse to multi-level governance, territorial coordination and the strengthening of social and economic resilience. The knowledge and experience generated through the Platform will be regularly shared with the OECD Committee on Regional Development Policy, allowing further development of analytical tools and public policy guidance to improve disaster risk management in member and partner countries.
Recent experiences at the OECD show that natural disasters are a growing and shared challenge that requires improved coordination, strengthened learning across countries, and a strategic priority for territorial resilience.
With the Valencia International Conference of 2026 and the presidency of the new Platform, Spain consolidates its role as a reference in policies of resilience, multi-level cooperation and emergency response.
