Visit of the Honourable Dan Hays, Senator, Speaker of the Senate, and a Parliamentary Delegation, to the Republic of Indonesia
From March 14 to 18, 2005, the Honourable Dan Hays, Speaker of the Senate, led a parliamentary delegation composed of the Honourable Michael J. Forrestall, Senator, the Honourable Lorna Milne, Senator; and the Honourable Madeleine Plamondon, Senator, to the Republic of Indonesia. The visit was in reply to an official invitation from H.E. Dr. Hidayat Nur Wahid, Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly of the Republic of Indonesia.
While in Jakarta, the delegation met with:
- H.E. Dr. Hidayat Nur Wahid, Chairman of the People’s Consultative Assembly;
- H.E. Drs. H. Muhammad Jusuf Kalla, Vice-President of the Republic of Indonesia;
- Prof. Dr. Ir. Ginandjar Kartasasmita, Chairman of the Regional Representative Assembly;
- H.E. Mr. Agung Laksono, Chairman of the People’s Representative Assembly;
- Religious leaders;
- Members of the business community; and
- Media representatives.
While visiting Banda Aceh, additional discussions were held with: Mr. Abubakar, Interim Governor of Aceh, and with Dr. Alwi Shihab, Coordinating Minister for Social Welfare; Mr. Masood Hyder, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Sumatra; Ms. Michelle Lipner, Head of the United Nations Field Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA); Mr. Rusjdi Ali Muhammad, Director of the State Institute of Islamic Studies (IAIN) in Banda Aceh; and representatives of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC), as well as World Vision. The Canadian delegation also had the opportunity to visit the Indonesian coastline directly hit by the tsunami, the old port area, an Internally Displaced Persons Camp (IDP), a child-centered space and an IFRC water and Sanitation Emergency Response Unit.
During this visit, the Canadian delegation sought to further strengthen ties of parliamentary friendship, to support the promotion of democratic development, pluralism and good governance, as well as to highlight the range of Canada’s long-term commitment to post-tsunami relief and reconstruction efforts.