The foreign minister of New Zealand has met his Indonesian counterpart on the last day of his two-day visit to the earthquake- and tsunami-hit country, to discuss bilateral relations and the impact of the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami that killed over 1400 people.
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On Thursday, the first day of his visit, Winston Peters announced $1.5 million in immediate funding for aid agencies working on the ground and another $1.5 million as "stand-by funding to support the international community's efforts for emergency relief activities and early recovery projects".
"This package is in addition to the relief support already announced by the New Zealand government earlier this week, taking our total contribution to the Sulawesi response to $5 million," said Peters, who arrived in Jakarta on Wednesday.
"My visit will be an opportunity to personally express the condolences of New Zealand for the loss of life, and to discuss any potential assistance," Peters said in an earlier statement on September 29.
During his visit, Peters also co-chaired the New Zealand-Indonesia Joint Ministerial Consultations in Jakarta, along with Indonesia's Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi.
"These talks come at an important time, as we celebrate 60 years of bilateral diplomatic relations. Indonesia is a vital partner for New Zealand in the Asia Pacific region, and we share real interests across trade, security and people connections,'' he said in the statement.
Meanwhile, as Peters had announced earlier, on Friday a C-130 Hercules aircraft reached Indonesia with 8.2 tonnes of emergency supplies.
"These aid supplies will help address the urgent need for clean water, power and shelter in the disaster zones," the New Zealand Defense forces said in a statement.
The aircraft and a 14-member detachment would stay on to help with the rescue efforts, according to the NZDF statement.
"We will be working with Indonesian authorities and our international partners to provide an air bridge between Balikpapan and Palu and help bring aid supplies to where they are needed most," Major General Tim Gall, the Commander Joint Forces New Zealand, said in the statement.
Multinational operations to fly aid supplies to disaster zones are being staged out of Balikpapan, a port city in Indonesia's East Kalimantan province which is about 380 kilometres west of Palu, he added.
Australian Associated Press
