The Head of Data Information Center and Public Relations of National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB), Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said on Tuesday (2/10), until13.00 Western Indonesia Time,120 foreign tourists have been evacuated due to the earthquake and tsunami in Palu, Donggala, Central Sulawesi. In a press conference in Jakarta on Tuesday (2/10), Sutopo admitted that there are two more foreign tourists still missing. They are from South Korea and Belgium.

“We have coordinated with the Indonesian Foreign Affairs Ministry, there are 122 foreign tourists have to be evacuated from Palu and Donggala. 120 of them has been identified, while other two foreigners, from South Korea andBelgium are still missing,” said Sutopo.

Furthermore Sutopo Purwonugroho said that a South Koreancitizen is still missing. He might be trapped in the ruins of Road Roa Hotel, Palu. Meanwhile a Belgian citizen cannot be contacted. According to Sutopo the evacuation process of the foreign touristsis coordinated by foreign affairs ministry in cooperation with BNPB, Indonesian military, Indonesian Police, National Search and Rescue Agency and other ministries.Sutopo added that foreign tourists must be priority to be evacuated by Hercules Helicopter from Palu to Jakarta or Makassar, South Sulawesi. (VOI/Rezha/Trs.NK/AHM)

The Head of Public Relation Division of Indonesian Police, Inspector General (Pol) Setyo Wasisto said that 2,143 personnel from all over Indonesia headed to Central Sulawesi to help for rescue and evacuation of the victims affected by earthquake and Tsunami in the region. Setyo Wasisto, at the Merdeka Selatan 9 Forum at the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology Building on Tuesday (2/10) said that the 2,143 personnel consist of mobile Brigade (Brimob), Samapta Bhayangkara (Sabhara), Health Team, Disaster Victims Identification Team (DVI), K9 (sniffer dogs). The Police has also sent six dogs to search the victims at the ruins.

“As I said earlier that there are 2000 personnel from the Indonesian Police. We will send 2,143 police personnel that consists of mobile Brigade (Brimob),  Samapta Bhayangkara (Sabhara), Health Team, Disaster Victim Identification Team (DVI), K9 team. 4 dogs are already sent to help identification in the ruins. South Sulawesi regional police also sent two dogs,” said Setyo Wasisto.

Moreover, Setyo said of the total personnel, six hundred personnel has just entered the disaster area due to the limited transportation to the disaster area. In addition to the Police personnel, the Indonesian Police Headquarters and regional Police will also send the Abimanyu 7010 and Bisma 8001 hospital ships that will help treatment for victims, along with other ships that can turn salt water into mineral water. Setyo also stated that the police will give deterrent effect for the crime in the area. (VOI/Rezha/trs.NK/AHM)

The British Ambassador to Indonesia, Moazzam Malik in Jakarta on Tuesday (2/10) said that the British government has prepared several option of assistance that will be sent to Indonesian Government in handling earthquake and Tsunami in Palu, Central Sulawesi. Previously, the British International Development Minister has agreed to allocate humanitarian aid funds worth 38 billion Rupiah to Indonesian government. Ambassador Moazzam Malik explained that they have inventoried several options to assist the Indonesian government.

“We have several options. So we have some materials on shelter kits in Dubai and Delhi, as well as tents and temporary kicthen, blanket and others that can be given to the victims. We have also communicated with transportation airlines in effort to sendmaterials directly to Palu or big airports such as Makassar or Balikpapan around the emergency area. There are also some Military options such as military aircrafts and ships that are currently docked in Singapore. We have emergency agencies that can help improvement process, which have carried out activities in Indonesia, including Red Cross, PMI, and NGOs,” Moazzam Malik said.

Moazzam Malik further explained that the 38 billion Rupiah assistance is taken fromthe British state budget for especially humanitarian aid whenoccurring international disaster. Moreover, to follow up the humanitarian assistance, the British government hasalso sent special team to coordinate with the Indonesian Government to help victims in Palu, Central Sulawesi. (VOI/Ndy/Trs:NK/AHM)

Indonesia’s Director General for America and Europe of the Foreign Affairs Ministry Muhammad Anshor and US Ambassador to Indonesia Joseph Donovan signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) on promoting strong cyberspace cooperation in Jakarta Sept 28.

"International cooperation in the cyber realm, including with the United States, is important to address the continuous evolution of challenges and problems in cyberspace," Director General Anshor remarked as quoted from a statement from the US Embassy on Monday.

The LoI embodies the commitment of the two countries to boost cooperation in cyberspace as agreed during President Joko Widodo`s visit to the United States in October 2015.

"The Letter of Intent builds on existing partnerships and deepens cooperation on cyberspace that supports our vibrant democracies and economic growth," Ambassador Donovan noted.

The signing ceremony was also attended by representatives of the relevant ministries and institutions in Indonesia including the Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal, and Security Affairs; State Cyber and Crypto Agency; Indonesian National Police; and relevant units in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The LoI will become the framework for advancing cooperation and development of national cyberspace capacity and for empowering the newly established State Cyber and Crypto Agency as Indonesia`s focal point for executing cybersecurity tasks.

Several areas of cooperation highlighted under the LoI are: discussion on the development of national cyber strategy; national incident management capabilities; capacity building and cooperation in countering cyber crime; and increasing cybersecurity awareness.

The two countries will work on an action plan to identify concrete activities under the LoI. (ANTARA)