Foreign and Military Affairs

Wen calls for disaster relief co-op with Indonesia

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-29 16:25

JAKARTA - Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for further cooperation with Indonesia Friday on disaster prevention and relief to better respond to natural calamities.

He made the remarks when meeting an Indonesian international medical team which participated in rescue operations after a devastating earthquake hit southwest China's Sichuang province in 2008.

The premier said the Indonesian government and people extended a helping hand to the Chinese people immediately after the massive quake and that the medical team demonstrated the depth of international humanitarianism.

Wen expressed appreciation to the team, saying that what its members brought was not only emergency medical assistance but also the Indonesian people's affection for the Chinese.

The team members said they established a brotherly relationship with their Chinese counterparts and local people during the one-month rescue operation in China.

China also sent a rescue team to Indonesia when it was hit by a devastating tsunami in 2004, they said, adding that they were willing to contribute to the friendship between the two peoples through bilateral disaster relief cooperation.