|
The government announced Sunday that it is considering donating over US$50 million (W52.1 billion), ten times the original proposal, to help relief efforts in the wake of the earthquake that occurred under Indonesian Sumatra and caused 10-meter-high tidal waves across the Indian Ocean.
Initially, the government decided to provide $5 million in relief funds through a meeting with the ruling party late December.
As Japan decided to increase its donations to $500 million, however, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon suggested to Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan that the country revise its donations dramatically upward.
 |
|
A young girl from Mauritius in the Indian Ocean lights an alter candle Sunday to place it alongside 1,000 candles set up at London's Westminster Cathedral in memory of the victims of last week's tsunami. /Yonhap
|
 |
|
The foreign minister said in a meeting with reporters that the international community believes Korea should make donations in line with its status as the 11th largest global economy. The country's anticipated relief funds of $50 million would be Korea's largest ever contribution and would be spread out over three to four years.
 |
|
Indonesian Muslims pray at Istiqlal Mosque in Jakarta on Friday for those who died in the tsunami that swept through Southeast Asia last week. /AP
|
|
|
Meanwhile, the government will send Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan to a special summit meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta on Jan. 6 to discuss plans to aid countries devastated by the tsunami.
(Lee Ha-won, may2@chosun.com )
|
