"We, as an institution with competence in the search and rescue field have been given the trust to be the Chair of the INSARAG as well as to organize the regional meeting," Basarnas Chief Lt.Gen.(Mar)(Ret.) Nono Sampono said here Tuesday.
He said Indonesia`s appointment as host of the meeting was in accordance with a decision of the INSARAG 2010 Global Meeting in Kobe, Japan. The event was attended by 150 participants from 21 countries and several international organizations.
"INSARAG is an emergency response network of state and private organizations in the field of searching and providing relief for urban disaster (Urban SAR) victims," Nono Sampono said.
He said the goal of INSARAG cooperation was to develop an international coordination of rescue efforts and humanitarian assistance to disaster victims, especially in earthquake and collapsed buildings.
The scope of the cooperation, among others was to improve the coordination among urban SAR teams and develop urban SAR operations, he added.
At the same time, Basarnas also spearheaded the establishment of the International SAR Forum (ISF).
"The forum is a media of discussion and information sharing for the agencies and organizations in Asia Pacific related to search and rescue," the head of Basarnas` Foreign Affairs Technical Cooperation, Abdul Harris Achadi, said.
He explained the purpose of the establishment of the forum was to develop coordination and forge effective international cooperation in SAR services.
"We hope that ISF will become the embryo of continuous cooperation and facilitate inter-state areas of SAR in the Asia Pacific region," he said.
The forum was also expected to make Basarnas more knowledgeable about various things related to its duties and functions through the speakers from various international organizations, including the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the US Coast Guard.
(T.KR-LWA/HAJM/H-YH)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
