Apart from logistics and equipment assistance, the Indonesian government also deployed a special assessment team from the Public Works and Public Housing (PUPR) Ministry, Foreign Affairs Ministry, State Intelligence Agency (BIN), and Government’s Development Finance Comptroller (BPKP) comprising 14 people.
He remarked in a statement received here, Tuesday, that all types of assistance, including the delegation for Vanuatu, will be brought using two charter planes: Garuda Indonesia aircraft and My Indo Airlines cargo plane.
"We would be using two planes together. One cargo plane brought the goods and another plane brought the Indonesian delegation," Suharyanto noted.
He noted that it was not the first time that the Indonesian government had provided humanitarian assistance to other countries affected by disaster. Earlier, the government had also applied the same approach to Pakistan, Turkey, and Syria.
Earlier, the Indonesian government had also sent humanitarian assistance to the Republic of Vanuatu in March 2015 after the country, located in the Pacific Ocean, was hit by tropical cyclone Pam.
Furthermore, Suharyanto explained that the flight carrying the humanitarian mission would take the Jakarta-Kupang-Brisbane route and was expected to arrive in Vanuatu at around 10:00 local time.
Upon arrival in Vanuatu, the entourage would be received by the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, who was accompanied by the foreign affairs minister of Vanuatu, he remarked.
He noted that the team would also inspect the VVIP building at the Port Vila Airport, Vanuatu, since the building was damaged due to the disaster. The inspection is aimed as an initial assessment of the building repair plan that will be assisted by the PUPR Ministry.
"The team from the PUPR Ministry will check the condition of the Port Vila Airport since it was damaged due to the disaster earlier," he stated.
According to Suharyanto, the support provided by the Indonesian government is in the form of several logistics items and equipment worth Rp7.6 billion. In addition, the Indonesian government provided support in the form of cash funds worth Rp10 billion for the repair of the VVIP room at the Port Villa Airport that was damaged by the disaster.
Assistance for the Republic of Vanuatu was provided to accelerate the handling and recovery process following the tropical cyclone Judy and Kevin and the 6.5-magnitude earthquake that struck last March. The disaster caused residents to flee their homes, damaged infrastructure networks, polluted water sources, inflicted damage to the agricultural sector, and disrupted telephone and internet connectivity networks, he remarked.
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Translator: Devi Nindy Sari R, Resinta S
Editor: Sri Haryati
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