REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, NUSA DUA -- The Indonesian and Australian governments have discussed actions and support for developing Rakhine State in Myanmar, through the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Center). In a meeting with Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne expressed Australia's desire to help the AHA Center's work in Rakhine State.

"I am pleased to continue to work with Minister Marsudi in involvement at the AHA Center," Payne said after meeting Marsudi on the sidelines of the 11th Bali Democracy Forum in Nusa Dua, Thursday (Dec 6).

In addition to developing Rakhine State which has been affected by humanitarian conflicts, Payne also asserted that attention must be paid to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees in camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.

"They are a real problem in our region. Australia will work with Indonesia and the AHA Center to cope with this challenge," Payne stressed.

Earlier in the 33rd ASEAN Summit in Singapore in November 2018, President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) invited ASEAN countries to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State. According to Jokowi, the crisis has caused global concern, so that Indonesia expected actions in resolving the crisis to create a conducive situation in Rakhine State.

The AHA Center will be given a mandate to help resolve the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State, according to the results of the ASEAN countries ministerial talks. The AHA Center has received a request to provide humanitarian assistance in Rakhine since last year based on a high-level agreement issued by the Chair of ASEAN which was then held by the Philippines.

Since October 2017, the AHA Center has been sending a number of humanitarian aid such as tents, cleaning equipment, generators, ships, kitchen equipment, and facilitating emergency response assessment teams to work in Rakhine State.

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