ASEAN Secretariat, 9 May 2008

The Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, has written to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar, H.E. Nyan Win, and the Minister for Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement of Myanmar, H.E. Major General Maung Maung Swe, to consider the quick admission of the ASEAN relief and rescue teams to assist in Myanmar’s ongoing relief efforts. Dr Surin invited the Charge d’Affaires of Myanmar to Indonesia, Mr. Kyi Maung Oo, to convey the message to the Ministers.

In the letters, Dr Surin said the ASEAN Secretariat has been informed by the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management that relief and rescue teams from ASEAN Member States are on standby to be mobilized to render immediate assistance to Myanmar. “This is in line with the spirit and commitment under the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response of July 2005, which Myanmar and five other ASEAN Member States have already ratified,” Dr Surin emphasised.

Dr Surin expressed his deepest sympathy to the government of Myanmar for the loss of human lives, sufferings of victims and damages to property and infrastructure due to Cyclone Nargis. 

Dr Surin also informed Mr Kyi Maung Oo of the emergency humanitarian relief fund, known as the ASEAN Cooperation Fund for Disaster Assistance, that has been set up by the ASEAN Secretariat.