Mr. Osamu Uno, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Attended Pledging Conference for Myanmar’s Cyclone Disaster

May 25, 2008

On May 25 (Sun), Mr. Osamu Uno, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, attended a pledging conference of the donor countries of Myanmar which was held in Yangon under the joint auspices of the United Nations and ASEAN.
At the conference, Mr. Uno delivered a speech and stated the following four points:

(1) Specific contribution of emergency assistance: Japan has decided on the organizations through which Japan’s emergency assistance of up to $10 million announced on May 9 will go to Myanmar.

about $2.53 million through the World Food Programme (WFP)
about $2.73 million through the United Nations Children’s Fund
about $1.73 million through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

The emergency assistance mentioned above comes up to about $7 million yen. The remaining $3 million approximately will be used to purchase shelters, construction equipment and materials, etc.

(2) Dispatch of a survey team for a disaster relief medical team: It is urgently required for the disaster relief medical team to enter Myanmar. The survey team arrives in Myanmar today, May 25.

(3) Survey on salvage of sunken ships in the Port of Yangon: Japan will realize assistance for Myanmar’s rehabilitation, including the dispatch of a survey team to examine sunken ships.

(4) Assistance for disaster prevention and reconstruction: Disaster prevention and reconstruction are particularly important from a mid and long-term perspective, and a survey team will be dispatched soon for rehabilitation and reconstruction. Japan asks the Myanmar Government for necessary preparation for accepting the team.

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