Minister Lehtomäki to go to the ministerial meeting on an early warning system in Thailand
Paula Lehtomäki, Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, will attend the ministerial meeting aiming to agree on the establishment of a tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean. The meeting will take place in Phuket, Thailand on 28–29 January.
“The tsunami catastrophe that took place on 26 December caused unprecedented loss of human life in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India, Thailand, the Maldives and Myanmar. Effects of the tsunami even extended to the coast of Africa. Some of this loss could have been avoided if an early warning system had been in place,” Minister Lehtomäki says. “However, this is not merely a question of technology; technical equipment alone isn’t enough to warn and, if necessary, to evacuate people. A wide range of skills and capacity are also required, and this calls for strengthening of international cooperation,” the minister continues.
An early warning system is in place, for instance, for the Pacific Ocean area, but there is no such system for the Indian Ocean. The purpose of the ministerial meeting convened at the initiative of Thaksin Shinawatra, Prime Minister of Thailand, is to reach agreement on the framework for building an early warning system in the region of the Indian Ocean. Financing of the early warning system and coordination of initiatives put forward by different parties will also be discussed at the meeting.
“Finland is most favourable to supporting an early warning system suitable for different types of natural catastrophes that is under the direction of the United Nations. We are ready to take part in its funding, too. At the meeting I intend to bring up Finnish companies’ very high level of expertise in, for example, equipment technology and meteorological observation. Moreover, Finnish companies have experience of similar projects, and I’m convinced that, seen against this background, we have a good chance of being included in practical efforts. Our intention is to work towards this end,” says the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development.
The ministerial meeting on an early warning system that will be held in Phuket will have participants from the countries within the disaster area and from the United States, Canada, European Union nations, and various UN organisations.
Additional information: Matti Junnila, Counsellor, Development Cooperation, tel. +358 9 160 56359; Satu Mäki, Special Adviser to the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, mobile tel. +358 40 829 3298.