The Governor met with Sugeng Triutomo, the Director of Disaster Mitigation for BAKORNAS PB, the National Disaster Management Coordinating Board of Indonesia. A new law is decentralizing Indonesia's disaster management to a model similar to the U.S., and the governor, along with Major General Robert Lee of the Hawaii National Guard, provided valuable input to the Indonesian agency and gained insights to help in Hawaii.
Lingle also visited the Tsunami Warning Center, which experts from Hawaii and millions of U.S. dollars have turned into a first-class facility. The Governor and Dr. Chip McCreery from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Honolulu participated in a roundtable discussion with Indonesian scientists to explore possible Hawaii-Indonesia partnerships.
Also on Tuesday, Lingle met with Indonesia Vice President Jusaf Kalla and Governor of the Aceh province Irwandi Yusuf to continue discussing how the new partnership can improve relations with the U.S. and benefit both Indonesia and Hawaii.
John Heffern, the Charge D'Affairs for the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, hosted Lingle and the Hawaii delegation at an evening reception Tuesday, where the governor gave brief remarks about her visit to Indonesia. Also attending the reception were Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies alumni, Jakarta business leaders and University of Hawaii alumni.
