DILI, 06 december 2023 (TATOLI) – The Indonesian government intends to collaborate with Timor-Leste, especially in the disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management to respond to any disasters that may occur on the border between the two countries, both on land and by air and sea.
The commitment was conveyed by the Secretary General of the Indonesian National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB), S. Rustian, on the sidelines of a meeting with the Secretary of State for Civil Protection (SEPC), Domingos Reis, in Caicoli, Dili.
“Indonesia and Timor-Leste are brothers. That’s why it’s very important to work together on disaster management. We agreed to exchange ideas to use the disaster management experience of both countries, so that we can anticipate and respond appropriately to future natural disasters,” he said.
Rustian also said that the meeting also discussed cooperation to improve the specific skills of human resources through specialized training in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
He hopes that cooperation between the two countries will improve, since Indonesia is very active in providing international assistance to friendly countries that suffer disasters, by sending human resources as well as logistics and equipment.
This collaboration will be implemented after the BNPB and the Timorese Civil Protection Authority (APC) coordinate with the foreign ministries of the two countries so that a memorandum of understanding in the field of disaster management can be signed soon.
Meanwhile, Domingos Reis, said that he was honored to meet with delegations from Indonesia’s BNPB to strengthen cooperation in disaster management: “We intend to work together with Indonesia to deal with disasters that occur in border areas. Partnership in disaster management is important. If a disaster affects both countries, especially in the border areas of both countries, we will intervene with an integrated approach.”
He stressed that this collaboration would include support for the management of air and sea accidents since Timor-Leste still lacks the human resources to respond to these types of disasters.
Domingos Reis added that the collaboration with BNPB Indonesia was aimed at strengthening APC’s institutional capacity to respond to the roadmap defined by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Timor-Leste’s accession to the regional organization.
Journalist: Jose Belarmino de Sa
Editor: Filomeno Martins
