Regional Red Cross groups meet in Jakarta

INDONESIA: Officials of Southeast Asian Red Cross and Red Crescent groups are meeting in Jakarta to discuss current humanitarian issues, with the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) as the host.

Indonesia cooperated with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent in organizing the meet.

Besides Indonesia, the countries attending the four-day international conference are Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Timor Leste, the PMI said Wednesday in a press statement.

The meeting, which began on Tuesday, discusses issues such as adaptation to climate change, the role of youths and volunteers in Red Cross organizations and social involvement of the groupings in peacemaking to ending civil unrest.

“A number of issues will be discussed and revealed during this meeting,” PMI chairman Jusuf Kalla told reporters Wednesday in a conference at the Sultan Hotel. — JP