JAKARTA - Indonesia through the BUMN Foundation received 150 ventilators from residents of New York, United States (US).
"Today is an extraordinary day that we as a BUMN Foundation are also trusted by the people of New York, the government from New York has received the ventilators that are currently needed for the Indonesian people," said SOE Minister Erick Thohir as quoted by Antara, Tuesday, August 17.
The assistance was handed over by the United States Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim to the Minister of SOEs Erick Thohir at Soekarno-Hatta Airport, Tangerang, Banten.
Erick said that in early 2021, the Ministry of SOEs would form an independent BUMN Foundation to collect assistance from the private sector in handling COVID-19.
Since the establishment of the BUMN Foundation, many private companies have collaborated in collecting and distributing aid for handling COVID-19.
"We received extraordinary assistance from many private sectors, at that time there were 36 private sector companies that worked with us so that we also distributed many things, including ventilators, masks, medicines and others and at that time Garuda also helped with the transportation. " said Eric.
His party, continued Erick, greatly appreciated the assistance from the citizens and the US government. America, he said, is one of the countries that pays attention to the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia.
"I think the friendship between the two countries is a sincere friendship and can build each other up, especially since the two countries are based on the same philosophy, namely a democratic country," he said.
Meanwhile, the United States Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim said the 150 ventilators provided were an initiative of New Yorkers to help deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
"I would like to express my appreciation to Minister Thohir for his initiative and leadership representing the Indonesian people. Thanks to his efforts, New York City was inspired to donate 150 ventilators to help save and recover more people from COVID-19," he said.
Assistance, according to him, came directly from residents of the largest city in the United States. This proves that without the involvement of the government, US private sector companies continue to provide support regarding the handling of COVID-19 in Indonesia.
"Their involvement reflects the strong friendship and partnership between the two countries," he said.
According to him, in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic there must be international cooperation and support. The United States government has donated 8 million doses of vaccine, 1,000 ventilators and provided more than USD 65 million in COVID-19 assistance in Indonesia.
"Along with our partnership to defeat the pandemic and move forward towards a rapid economic recovery, allow me to wish all of Indonesia's friends a happy independence day. Indonesia is strong, Indonesia is growing," he said.
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