UN General Assembly
2005

are deeply grateful. The outpouring of sympathy and solidarity, as well as humanitarian assistance from all over the world, deeply touched us. Eleven days after the tragedy, we hosted in Jakarta a special summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on the aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. At that summit, world leaders and the United Nations Secretary-General, as well as representatives of multilateral institutions, worked out a system of coordination and division of labour in attending to the stricken countries. Pledges were made of urgently needed assistance. A decision was reached to develop a multi-nodal early warning system covering the Indian Ocean Rim countries. Within ASEAN, an agreement to establish stand-by arrangements to mitigate natural disasters was concluded last July. Those efforts were reflected in General Assembly resolution 59/233, initiated by ASEAN and sponsored by more than 130 United Nations Members. The reconstruction and rehabilitation of Aceh got off to an early start as the emergency relief phase was completed ahead of schedule. A master plan for reconstruction and rehabilitation was then devised. An