26 states, int'l organizations confirm summit attendance
Fabiola Desy Unidjaja, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The international community has welcomed the initiative to hold an emergency summit in the wake of the tsunami disaster with 26 countries and international organizations confirmed to attend.
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda said on Tuesday that 14 heads of government as well as ministers from several countries and international organizations would be attending the one-day emergency summit.
"This is a clear expression of global solidarity and in this meeting we hope to reach a global commitment to assist in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the affected countries," Hassan said after a limited Cabinet meeting led by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
He further said that the meeting would focus on discussing the way forward after the tragedy and how to develop an early warning system to prevent massive casualties in the future from similar calamities.
The summit was initiated by Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, initially to gather the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leaders to come together since the tsunamis struck South Asia and Southeast Asia.
However, the suggestion was soon welcomed by world leaders outside ASEAN as they expressed their intention to be part of the summit in Jakarta and join the global efforts to support the relief programs as well as reconstruction measures.
"In the meeting we will hear presentations from the affected countries for them to discuss with donor countries what kind of aid is needed to match the needs," Hassan said in a press conference.
To crystallize the commitment, there will be a discussion on the form the agencies should take to distribute the reconstruction aid.
"Will it be in the form of a consortium or should there be a special envoy from the United Nations to supervise the reconstruction program?" he said.
On the future forecasts of similar disasters, the Indonesian minister said that there should be a discussion on a warning system to prevent such a disaster in the future.
The Dec. 26 tsunami across Asia is the worst natural disaster since the eruption of the Krakatoa in 1893 in the Sunda Straits, which also killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The tsunamis, which followed an earthquake, killed more than 145,000 people in Aceh, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand, as well as several other countries.
Some experts said that the death toll could have been lower if there had been an early warning system, such as the one established among Pacific nations.
Country delegations led by the heads of states are Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Japan, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam.
Countries represented by ministers are India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, the United States, and Canada, and the international organizations participating in the summit are the Asian Development Bank, European Union, United Nations, World Health Organization (WHO), World Bank and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Four European countries -- the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden and the Netherlands -- as well as ministers from East Timor will attend the summit as observers.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and World Bank president James Wolfensen, as well as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Florida Governor Jeb Bush will visit Banda Aceh and Meulaboh this week.