PR: 35

Jakarta, 21 December, 2005

The UK government announced a further £23.6 million yesterday to assist long term reconstruction in Aceh and North Sumatra.

Speaking in Brussels yesterday at a joint UK Presidency and European Commission event to review the EU’s response to the disaster, Minister for International Development, Gareth Thomas said the newly allocated £23.6 million would support initiatives including:

• Providing jobs and training to help people back to work;
• Help promote private businesses, especially small enterprises; and
• Support local government authorities provide basic services to the affected communities.

The newly-allocated funds are part of the £65 million pledged by the UK government earlier this year but which had not yet been spent, pending ongoing assessments of reconstruction priorities. Part of this funding is expected to be channelled through the Multi Donor Trust Fund, which is managed jointly by donors and the Government of Indonesia.

Notes to Editors:

1. The UK Government has allocated the equivalent of £290 million to disaster relief and reconstruction in the tsunami affected countries:

• £75 million of our bilateral funds to the humanitarian relief effort.
• £7.5 million on disaster risk reduction
• £65 million for longer-term reconstruction.
• £59.2 million for Indonesia (includes £23.6 million announced today)
• £2.8 million for Sri Lanka
• £3 million for India
• £50 million through tax relief on public donations made through the Gift Aid Scheme.
• £55 million as its share of EC humanitarian and reconstruction funding.
• £45 million to pay off some of Sri Lanka’s debt to the World Bank over the next 10 years.

2. Over 130,000 people were killed in Indonesia, more than in any other country, and 37,000 are still missing.

3. £55 million of the £75 million that the UK government committed to immediate relief for the tsunami affected region was allocated to Indonesia. DFID has approved an additional £59.2 million to help with the long term reconstruction in Aceh. This includes the £23.6 million outlined today.