Disaster Reduction Facility Formed

Senin, 24 November 2008 - 13:02 WIB

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VIVAnews - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd agreed to form Australia-Indonesia Disaster Reduction Facility (DRF), a facility designed to alleviate the impact of disasters.

During a joint press conference at the Melia Lima Hotel, Peru, Kevin Rudd said that he and President Yudhoyono are co-chairing APEC task force on emergency preparedness. The appointment of President Yudhoyono and Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was based on the experiences of Indonesia and Australia in dealing with disasters, including the Tsunami in Aceh and Nias in December 2004.

"This is a concrete way of a bilateral partnership between Indonesia and Australia. We cannot wait any longer until the next disaster occurs," said Kevin Rudd, Nov 22.

President Yudhoyono said that both countries initiated discussions on the DRF forming plan last June when Kevin Rudd was visiting Jakarta. Both leaders pay more attention to disaster effects in Indonesian and Australia, as well as the disaster-prone Asia Pacific regions.

"Recently, an earthquake of 7.7 at Richter Scale shook Gorontalo, Sulawesi. Meanwhile, Queensland, Australia, was just hit by typhoon. Many of the affected people had to take refuge, even though there was no fatal casualties," said President Yudhoyono.

The Indonesia-Australia DRF will commence operation in April 2009. Australia will allocate funds of around US$42 million for the next five years. The funds will be utilized for, among other things, researches on disaster impact risk reduction, training, and improvement of disaster handling preparedness.