Australia injects 29 million US dollars more for cyclone victims

Jul 23, 2008, 5:45 GMT

Singapore - Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said Wednesday his country made a further contribution of 30 million Australian dollars (29 million US dollars) in assistance to the victims of Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis that left 140,000 people dead or missing.

Smith, who was attending the annual foreign minister meetings of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), said the amount was in addition to the 25 million dollars Australia contributed immediately after the cyclone struck in May.

'We made this contribution because we are very pleased with the progress that ASEAN and the United Nations have made in conjunction with Myanmar,' he told reporters. 'We are very pleased that the ASEAN effort in conjunction with the United Nations and Myanmar have seen the delivery of international assistance.'

A Post-Nargis Joint Assessment Report conducted by ASEAN, the UN and Myanmar, estimated the cost of rehabilitation of devastated areas at over 1 billion US dollars in the next three years

Smith said he met with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win on the sidelines of the 10-member grouping meetings, and reiterated Australia's hope for Myanmar to return to a democratic state.

'We very much want to see Myanmar conduct an election that is full, free and fair, where all political players, including (detained pro-democracy leader) Aung San Suu Kyi, have participation, and where the outcome reflects the will of the Myanmar people,' he said.

When asked about the reaction of the Myanmar minister on the points he raised, Smith said, 'It's best described as the usual Myanmar reaction. He was of course very gratefully appreciative of Australia's humanitarian assistance.'