第3回関係国会議の開催にあたって、国際赤十字・赤新月社連盟（連盟）会長でもある日本赤十字社（日赤）の近衞忠煇社長から、16の赤十字社からの参加があったことを嬉しく思うとともに、有意義な議論がなされ、第18回連盟総会での決議をより具体的な形で前へ進めることができるよう強く希望すると挨拶がありました。またこの中で、多くの国・地域の方々と赤十字・赤新月社が、日赤による被災者支援の取り組みを支えていることへの感謝と、世界が原子力に依存する限り、私たちは事故に備える必要があるとの認識を述べました。
In the opening speech of the third Reference Group Meeting on Nuclear & Radiological Emergency Preparedness, Tadateru Konoe, President of the Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), told that he was pleased with the participation in the meeting from as many as 16 National Societies and strongly hoped that meaningful discussions would be made during this meeting to bring the IFRC's resolution at the 18th General Assembly forward in a more concrete way. In his address, he expressed his gratitude to people in many countries and regions and National Societies for supporting the JRCS's efforts to assist the survivors. He went on saying that the Red Cross needs to prepare for nuclear accidents as long as the world relies on nuclear power generation.