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NEW YORK: The United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is set to leave for Myanmar in the next 24 hours in a bid to scale up the response to Cyclone Nargis that had hit the country two and a half weeks ago.
His trip follows a pledge by Myanmar that more outside aid will be allowed in through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of which it is a member.
The UN and ASEAN will hold a joint pledging conference for the international community in Yangon this coming weekend.
Michelle Montas, Spokesperson for UN secretary-general, said: "His (Mr Ban) objective is to reinforce the ongoing aid operation, see how the international relief and rehabilitation effort can be scaled up, and work with Myanmar authorities to significantly increase the amount of aid flowing through Yangon to the areas that are most affected."
The trip is aimed at getting Myanmar to allow more foreign humanitarian workers into the Irrawaddy delta region. Aid organisations and some of the biggest donors want full access to the affected areas
Zalmay Khalilzad, United States Ambassador to the United Nations, said: "There is a need for not only access but also an assessment of the situation, and what additional help the international community can provide."
The apparent success of the ASEAN meeting has calmed the situation a little after a two-week tense standoff between Myanmar and some in the international community over how far the UN would go to push for aid deliveries to the region – France had suggested delivering supplies without the consent of Yangon.
Mr Ban's trip is aimed at establishing a more direct contact between the Myanmar authorities and the UN. But the UN stressed the visit will be humanitarian in scope only, not political.
"This is going to be a strictly humanitarian trip – he is going to go and visit the victims of the cyclone. It is going to be strictly humanitarian," said Ms Montas.
It is clear now that the key to more international aid flowing into Myanmar is through ASEAN.
The UN secretary-general hopes more aid will get through, following the pledging conference jointly held with ASEAN in Myanmar this weekend.
- CNA/so
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