A scene after disaster in Central Sulawesi province (Source: VNA) Jakarta (VNA) - The Japanese and Indonesiangovernments have agreed to foster cooperation in disaster mitigation followinghumanitarian aid and disaster mitigation programmes in the wake of powerfulearthquakes and tsunami in Central Sulawesi province.
It was one of the topicsdiscussed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo and Japanese Prime MinisterShinzo Abe during their meeting on the sidelines of the 33rd ASEANSummit in Singapore on November 15.
Abe expressed his wish to work with Indonesia in rehabilitatingand reconstructing areas affected by the earthquakes as well as in increasingIndonesia’s resilience to disasters.
During the emergency response period, Japan provided two C-130HHercules aircraft and 63 personnel of the self-defense force to assist theJapanese disaster relief team in transporting supplies and evacuating victims.
Japan has collaborated with the Indonesian Air Force in carryingout 21 flights and transporting at least 200 tonnes of aid and 400 people.
In addition to providing a number of emergency supplies, such astents, power generators and water purifiers, over 110 Japanese companies haveprovided funds worth more than 1.8 billion USD.
The ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance onDisaster Management (AHA Center) supported by Japan has conducted a survey todetermine needs at the disaster site and make coordination with related sidesin delivering international assistance.
Japan and Indonesia are formulating a master plan forrehabilitation and reconstruction by referring to the Regional Disaster RiskResilience Plan in Central Sulawesi.
Through the Equipment Improvement for Disaster Risk ManagementProject worth about 13.8 billion USD, Japan will help install broadbandseismographs and other supporting equipment in 93 points in Indonesia which areprone to earthquakes and tsunami.
Japan will also support the National Disaster Mitigation Agencyto strengthen its capacity in collecting data and analysing disaster riskinformation, and use it to formulate local disaster risk mitigation plans.-VNA
