A two-hundred strong assessment team will be deployed to the Irrawaddy delta area beginning Thursday, 5 June, Secretary-General of ASEAN revealed after a meeting with Tripartite Core Group in Yangon today.

The ASEAN-UN-Myanmar Tripartite Core Group agreed that after two days of intense briefing for their Emergency Rapid Assessment Team (ERAT), they are now ready to move into the cyclone stricken remote delta areas to begin full assessment of the extent of the damage and the urgent needs of the victims of Cyclone Nargis.

“We will begin with two advance teams being ferried by World Food Programme’s helicopter to two main townships of Labutta and Pyapon”, said Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN.

The ERAT team will comprise of members from the ASEAN countries, the UN system and the Myanmar Government. They are expected to cover the entire cyclone-affected areas and compile first-hand information and raw data for compilation into a composite joint assessment report by mid July 2008.

“We hope to be able to have enough information into our Coordinating Office in Yangon so that we can organise an expert roundtable to discuss among the international resource persons with special expertise in emergency response and recovery. This is important in view of the fact that ASEAN itself needs to build up our capacity to prepare for similar emergency in the future”, he said.

The World Bank and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) are supporting ASEAN for this exercise as a part of the bilateral agreements between the ASEAN Secretariat and the two financial institutions.

The ASEAN Roundtable is expected to take place on 24 June in Yangon with full participation of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force (AHTF) which will have its own third meeting on the next day, 25 June. AHTF will reveal the progress made and obstacles existing facing the works of the ASEAN-led mechanism for emergency relief, recovery and reconstruction efforts for the delta areas.

“I am personally very pleased with the progress made so far by the Tripartite Core Group but the next two weeks would be crucial for building international confidence in this joint mission between ASEAN, the UN and the Government of Myanmar”, said Dr. Surin.

On his brief visit, Dr. Surin also met with the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China, Guan Mu; the Ambassador of Bangladesh, Major General Abu Rushdi Rokonuddawla; and the Ambassador of India, Bhaskar Mitra to invite them to serve in the Advisory Group of the ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force. All three have kindly accepted the invitation. “It is important to have the neighbours of Myanmar to be parts of our joint efforts in helping the victims of Cyclone Nargis”, he said.

Dr. Surin also met with representatives from local non-governmental organisations who are actively engaged in the relief efforts on their own and in cooperation with international agencies. It was agreed that their inputs will be incorporated into the joint assessment report to reflect all parties’ perspectives and efforts in this common endeavour for the benefits of the people of Myanmar.

Dr. Surin also met with the World Bank’s experts who are providing training and supporting ASEAN in the conduct of the joint assessment. World Bank will provide 18 people while the ADB will provide 8 people to join and assist in the assessment.