YANGON, MYANMAR: Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo has arrived in Yangon.

He is there to co-chair Sunday's ASEAN-UN International Pledging Conference with the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.

Mr Yeo took time to meet the Singapore medical team that is helping in cyclone relief efforts in Twante township.

Speaking to reporters later, the minister said the conference will focus on the needs of those affected by Cyclone Nargis. It will also seek international support and financial assistance to help the victims both in the immediate as well as in the long term.

Mr Yeo said: "Right now, the bottleneck is distribution - bringing in specialised equipment and vessels and crafts and getting them into the areas where they are most needed, in as short a time as possible, and the faster we can do that, the better. That's where the bottleneck is right now."

Mercy Relief's Director, Dr Fatimah Lateef, said: "When we do humanitarian work, there is something called the Oslo guidelines where you have to respect the local authorities' decisions and the sovereignty of the country as well.

"We stick by those ethics and guidelines and certainly we do hope that we can come up with better negotiations over the coming few days.

"But again, I think it would also depend on our track record, how we perform here, our compliance to local rules and regulations and local authorities and how we communicate with them. I think that also has a major role for our team." - CNA/ir