Mohamad visits Myanmar as part of aid mission
SUBANG: Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan travelled to Myanmar yesterday as part of a humanitarian mission to help victims of the March 28 earthquake.
The aircraft carrying Mohamad and his delegation took off from the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) Subang Airbase about 8am and arrived at Nay Pyi Taw International Airport, Myanmar, at 9.30am.
The humanitarian mission was jointly led by Thai Foreign Minister Maris Sangiampongsa, symbolising Asean solidarity in humanitarian response and support for the people of Myanmar.
Malaysia, as Asean chair, and Thailand are spearheading this initiative, as agreed upon during the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Special Emergency Meeting chaired by Mohamad via video conference last Sunday.
The Foreign Ministry said that while in Nay Pyi Taw, Mohamad and Maris met with State Administration Council Chairman Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and Myanmar Foreign Minister U Than Shwe.
The two ministers were also briefed by the Asean Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) about relief operations.
Mohamad highlighted Asean’s coordinated disaster response efforts and Malaysia’s contributions to date, including the deployment of the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) and the delivery of humanitarian aid.
The visit also delivered 15 tonnes of humanitarian aid from Malaysia. The aid, coordinated through the AHA Centre, were delivered using an RMAF A400M aircraft.
On March 30, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that Malaysia would provide RM10 million in quake relief aid to Myanmar.
The same day, two RMAF A400M aircraft transported a SMART team and National Disaster Management Agency personnel to Myanmar for search and rescue operations.
On March 28, a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar, with Mandalay, Bago, Magway, northeastern Shan State, Sagaing and Nay Pyi Taw the hardest-hit areas. The tremors also affected neighbouring Thailand.