Clinton to visit tsunami regions

[TamilNet, Saturday, 19 November 2005, 13:34 GMT]
Former US President Clinton in his capacity as UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery will visit to tsunami affected countries, Sri Lanka and Indonesia, and report to European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, said a media release from the Office of the Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery at UNDP. In both countries, President Clinton will meet with affected communities with a focus on assessing the status of the recovery efforts. Key issues the former President will focus on include: shelter concerns, restoring livelihoods, the role of the private sector in the recovery effort and building the capacity of governmental institutions, the release further said.

President Clinton is expected to be in Colombo Sri Lanka on the 29 November and in Aceh, Indonesia on 30 November.

"This will be President Clinton's second trip to the region as UN Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. In each country, President Clinton will meet with all concerned parties including the government, civil society, affected communities, the UN, donors and the members of the private sector to assess the current status of the recovery effort and address existing challenges. Immediately following his visit to the region, President Clinton will report back his findings to the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium," the release further said.

President Clinton's priorities as Special Envoy, according the release, include:

• Keeping the world's attention focused on the tsunami recovery to ensure that this effort is not forgotten.
• Supporting coordination efforts at the country and global levels, to ensure all the actors work together efficiently and that resources are used to maximum effect.
• Promoting transparency and accountability measures to ensure that resources are used effectively while retaining the engagement of the millions of investors in this operation.
• Championing a new kind of recovery, one that “builds back better� by seizing the moral, political and financial opportunities to set the affected communities on a safe and sound development path.