Date of release : 04-01-2005

Policy area : General Affairs and External Relations

Luxembourg’s Minister for Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Action, Jean-Louis Schiltz, and the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, have been travelling in the tsunami-stricken regions since 2 January 2005.

On 3 January, they visited locations in southern and south-eastern Sri Lanka before departing for the island of Phuket on 4 January.

At the sites they observed the vast extent of the damage and the needs of victims of this natural disaster which, according to Minister Schiltz, “were infinitely greater than the impressions given by the media."

On 3 January, Jean-Louis Schiltz and Louis Michel met Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga in Colombo. They also met the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Lakhshman Kadirgamar, and Dr Tara de Mel, who is leading the National Relief Operations Unit (NROU).

After extending his condolences on behalf of the European Union to the Sri Lankan President, Luxembourg minister Jean-Louis Schiltz assured her that the EU would be there to help her country now and during the next phase of rehabilitation and reconstruction. He praised Sri Lanka’s efforts to prevent a hiatus from occurring between these two phases.

Jean-Louis Schiltz also expressed the EU’s gratitude to the Government of Sri Lanka for the extensive assistance provided to the representatives of the Member States to help solve the problems that many citizens of the European Union have experienced.

On 4 January, Jean-Louis Schiltz and Louis Michel arrived in Phuket in Thailand, the second stop on their humanitarian mission. In Phuket, Minister Schiltz met the Governor of Phuket Province, Mr Udomsak Uswarangkura, and extended his condolences and gratitude on behalf of the European Union for the efficient and spontaneous aid that the Thai authorities have given in providing first aid to the citizens of the various EU Member States. The Governor informed Minister Schiltz that approximately 5,000 people had lost their lives and that many were still reported missing.

Afterwards, the Luxembourg minister visited the coordination centre that houses the offices of around 20 countries whose citizens have been affected by the earthquake. This centre is cooperating closely with the 18 forensic teams that are identifying the bodies in the different locations in the region.