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Director General of BMKG Elected as the New Chair of ICG/IOTWMS

Kuala Lumpur- Director General of BMKG, Dr. Andi Eka Sakya, was elected by acclamation as the new Chair of ICG/IOTWMS (The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System) period of 2017-2019 during the 11^th Inter-governmental Oceanographic Commission/Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (18-20 April 2017). Elected as Vice-Chair are Dr Sam Hettiarachchi from Sri Lanka and Dr Juma Al-Maskari from Oman. This is a form of contribution and active role of Indonesia, especially BMKG, in enhancing regional cooperation in the field of Tsunami Warning and Mitigation in the Indian Ocean region.

During this term, Dr. Andi Eka Sakya is hoping that ICG/IOTWMS will become more active in building the capacity of member countries in the Indian Ocean region, especially in the provision of tsunami warning and mitigation to the public during their preparation to become a Tsunami Ready Nation.

The Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Indian Ocean Tsunami Warning and Mitigation System (ICG/IOTWMS) was formed in response to the tragic tsunami on December 26th 2004, in which over 230,000 lives were lost around the Indian Ocean region. The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) received a mandate from the international community to coordinate the establishment of the System during the course of several international and regional meetings, including the World Conference on Disaster Reduction (Kobe, Japan, 18 - 22 January 2005), and the Phuket Ministerial Meeting on Regional Cooperation on Tsunami Early Warning Arrangements (Phuket, Thailand, 28 and 29 January 2005). The IOC Assembly, during its twenty-third Session (21-30 June 2005), formally established the ICG/IOTWMS through Resolution IOC-XXIII-12.