EU, Thai bank aid tsunami victims

Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) and the European Commission (EU) are cooperating to help tsunami victims in southern Thailand, with the EU allocating 3.53 million Euros (about 4.46 million U.S. dollars) with an added 10 percent contributed by Thailand's government-owned BAAC.

Cooperation with both local and international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is being sought to ensure that all relief measures will apply directly to the needs of the victims, the Thai News Agency said.

BAAC executive vice president Enno Suesuwan has met with Erik Habers, counsellor for the Delegation of the European Commission to Thailand to review possible measures to aid tsunami victims in six Andaman coast provinces, the report said.

Afterwards, Enno said that the bank and the EU will continue cooperation in providing assistance, because many villagers are still suffering from the effects of the natural disaster.

The agriculture bank and the European Community agree, he said, to help community leaders or NGOs with good local information on victims' needs to help local groups apply efficient relief measures.

NGOs are invited to submit project proposals for consideration by a joint committee of the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives and the European Union.

The joint relief project will take effect from June 2007 to December 2008.

Habers was quoted as saying that cooperation with an NGO will benefit the victims' occupational and vocational knowledge and skills, as well as building community strength.

Relief measures should be accord with environmental protection concerns to ensure both individual livelihoods and community sustainability.

More than 5,300 people in Thailand's six Andaman coastal provinces lost their lives in the tsunami disaster in December 2004.

Source: Xinhua