26 states, int'l organizations confirm summit attendance
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.