4 January 2015

On 4th January, Ambassador Miyagawa attended the Handing-Over Ceremony of Japan's Emergency Relief Goods for the Flood Disaster in Malaysia held in the WFP-UN Humanitarian Response Depot Subang.

The ceremony to hand over emergency relief goods to the Government of Malaysia was held after the Government of Japan’s decision on 1st January to provide emergency relief goods worth 19 million yen (water purifiers, generators, etc.) to Malaysia through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). This was in response to a request from the Government of Malaysia, following serious damage caused by floods in the country.

In his speech during the ceremony, Ambassador Miyagawa expressed his sympathy for the Malaysian people’s suffering due to the recent catastrophic floods. He also said that the emergency relief facilities and equipment would help the Malaysian government and the state authorities concerned to face adversity with courage, and to return stability to the lives of the people in those areas as soon as possible.

Ms. Okubo, Acting Chief Representative of JICA Malaysia Office, said in her speech that in addition to emergency disaster relief, JICA has been strengthening its cooperation with ASEAN countries and several Malaysian universities in the field of disaster management. She also hoped that these initiatives would contribute towards strengthening social and institutional capacity to prepare for future natural disasters.

Lastly, Y.B. Dato’ Seri Dr. Shahidan bin Kassim, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said in his speech that Malaysia appreciated the assistance rendered by the Government of Japan and hoped that both countries’ close cooperation in the field of disaster management would be maintained in the future.