Finland donates 50 million euros to Asia during three years

Press release 8/2005
7 January 2005


Finland will increase its assistance to the regions hit by the tsunami disaster in Asia. The pledge for humanitarian assistance has been increased from the earlier announced 12 million to 20 million euros altogether. The eight-million increase in humanitarian assistance will be covered by the government's supplementary budget. In addition to humanitarian assistance, Finland will provide 30 million euros for reconstruction in 2005-2007 targeted mainly for Indonesia and Sri Lanka.

The funds for reconstruction will be chanelled mainly through UN organisations and international finance institutions. Bilateral aid will also be considered.

At the special summit organised in Jakarta on Thursday by the ASEAN countries it was envisaged by the UN that the need for humanitarian assistance would rise to a billion dollars in total. Altogether the international community has pledged some four billion dollars in aid. Thus the concern is not over the amount of pledges made, but how to convert promises into concrete action.

The foreign and development cooperation ministers of the EU discussed the coordination of aid in Brussels on Friday, 7 January. Finland was represented by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja and Foreign Trade and Development Minister Paula Lehtomäki. The international donors' meeting will be held in Geneva on 11 January.

Additional information: Anneli Vuorinen, Director of the Unit for Humanitarian Assistance a.i., tel. 040 520 3916, and Director Pekka Metso for reconstruction, tel. 040 521 0541, Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland