April 2, 2024
JAKARTA – The National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB) estimated that the Indonesian government’s humanitarian aid for civilians affected by the conflicts in Palestine and Sudan would arrive in Cairo and the Port of Sudan, respectively, by Thursday.
“The delegations will arrive in Cairo and the Port of Sudan on Thursday to deliver humanitarian aid and hold several meetings with the relevant authorities in Egypt and Sudan,” BNPB chief Lt. Gen. Suharyanto said, as quoted by the Antara news agency.
Suharyanto said that Indonesia would on Monday evening or Tuesday morning dispatch a team led by Brig. Gen. (ret) Ary Laksmana Widjaja to Egypt and another, led by Brig. Gen. Lukmansyah, to Sudan.
Their task is to coordinate with the Sudanese and Egyptian authorities, with support from the Indonesian embassies in Khartoum and Cairo, to prepare humanitarian aid to be delivered to the Sudanese, and Palestinians via the Egyptian government.
On Wednesday, Indonesia will also dispatch two humanitarian aid delegations to Sudan and Egypt.
The delegation bound for Cairo will be led by Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister Muhadjir Effendy while the delegation heading to Sudan will be led by Suharyanto.
The Indonesian Foreign Ministry had received diplomatic requests from Egypt and Sudan for humanitarian aid because of conflicts and disease outbreaks affecting their populations.
Egypt asked Indonesia for help with the influx of Palestinian refugees into Egyptian territory, specifically around Rafah in the northern Sinai Desert, caused by Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip.
Currently, Rafah hosts more than 1.5 million Palestinian refugees, prompting the Egyptian government to ask for help acquiring urgent necessities to accommodate people in the refugee camps.
In January, Egypt refused to allow Indonesian hospital ship KRI dr. Radjiman Wedyodiningrat to treat Palestinians during its humanitarian mission to El Arish, the closest Egyptian port to the Gaza Strip.
Cairo only allowed the hospital ship a window of four days to unload 242 tonnes of humanitarian aid to be delivered to the Gaza Strip overland.
KRI Radjiman underwent a trip of 10,983 nautical miles in 57 days, departing from Jakarta on Jan. 19 with stops in Batam, Riau Islands; Belawan, North Sumatra and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia before arriving at El Arish Port in Egypt on Feb. 13.
Meanwhile, the Sudanese government also seeks similar help from Indonesia for its citizens affected by internal conflicts between the government and the Rapid Support Forces militia, and a cholera outbreak. Sudan reported at least 2,525 suspected cases of cholera, requiring medical supplies.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi announced that following President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s orders, Indonesia would provide aid to Egypt and Sudan based on their requested lists, totaling US$1 million for each country.