Jakarta (VNA) – The Indonesian Government will send 10,000 tonnes of rice to the people of Palestine as part of a humanitarian aid mission, Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Food Affairs Zulkifli Hasan said on June 12.
The rice will be sourced from the government’s national reserves and transported by the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI), either directly to Palestine or via Jordan, depending on logistical feasibility, Zulkifli said.
Head of the National Food Authority (Bapanas) Arief Prasetyo Adi said that the State Logistics Agency (Bulog) is responsible for the preparation for the shipment. The budget for this assistance is sourced from the Indonesian Aid Foundation under the Ministry of Finance.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman said the plan to provide rice aid for Palestine is partly supported by Indonesia’s success in securing more than 4 million tonnes of rice reserves, the highest amount recorded in 57 years. With ample rice reserves, the government has enough supply to meet domestic demand and provide aid abroad.
The Indonesian Government had previously announced its decision to export rice to Malaysia and was ready to consider similar cooperation opportunities with other countries in Southeast Asia./.
