Close coordination among ASEAN members urged

By CHARISSA M. LUCI
July 3, 2009, 10:34pm

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan has called on the ASEAN member states and the international community to contribute to the US$691-million funding requirement of the regional bloc’s implementation of the three-year Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP).

"Additional funding from ASEAN Member States and the international community is much needed to improve the lives of 2.4 million people affected by cylone Nargis, helping ASEAN demonstrate our principle of placing the well-being, livelihood and welfare of the peoples at the centre of the ASEAN community building process," Surin said, in a statement e-mailed by the ASEAN Secretariat to the Manila Bulletin.


The ASEAN chief made the call during the meeting of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force for the Victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar (AHTF), which has convened its 6th meeting to review the regional group’s ongoing efforts and future involvement in the PONREPP implementation.

Surin, who heads the AHTF, pressed on the need to necessarily engage more line ministries in the recovery process in addition to strengthening the partnership within the Tripartite Core Group (TCG).

"I trust that a wider engagement from the government of Myanmar will benefit all of us in our road to recovery, which ultimately benefits the people of the Delta," he said.

Surin also expressed Task Force’s call for a more synergy and coordination between the PONREPP and the government’s reconstruction plan, saying that "this would ensure that there is continuity when the recovery work completes."

He also pressed on the need of close coordination and wider involvement among the ASEAN countries and international organizations involved in rehabilitating Myanmar after it was stricken by cyclone Nargis affecting more than two million people.