Establishment of Early Warning System against Tsunamis

The “Summit for Emergency Relief,” designed to discuss international aid effort to tsunami-hit South Asian countries, was held on January 6 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The summit was concluded after attendees reached an agreement on 13 issues, including the establishment of an early warning system against tsunamis.

Delegates from 19 countries including 10 members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and heads of four international organizations including the United Nations attended the summit and released a joint statement. The statement presented 13 detailed implantation plans over three fields, including relief efforts on victims, reconstruction of disaster-affected areas, and the establishment of a warning system.

Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan participated in the summit as the Korean delegate and said in a speech that Korea would pledge $50 million to affected countries and actively join the international assistance effort.

The attendees included United States Secretary of State Colin Powell, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, World Bank President James Wolfensohn, and World Health Organization (WHO) Director General Lee Jong-wook.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said on that day that the relief fund pledged to the U.N. reached $4 billion, as countries are competing with each other over relief aid.

Hye-Yoon Park parkhyey@donga.com