India and Indonesia on Wednesday agreed to expand and strengthen disaster risk management and preparedness in the region, "especially aid to victims of disasters".
A joint statement issued after one-on-one talks between Indonesian President Joko Widodo and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and followed by a delegation-level meeting between the two sides, said both countries had agreed upon revitalising bilateral cooperation in disaster management including regular joint exercises between the relevant agencies and training cooperation to augment capacities to respond to natural disasters and humanitarian requirements.
Both President Joko Widodo and Prime Minister Modi have also agreed to improving "geodetic data-sharing, methods and infrastructure and further developing early warning systems in the region for forecasting and communicating disaster-related risks and hazards."
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew kites along with Indonesian President Joko Widodo at a Kite exhibition in Jakarta.
The two leaders also visited at Istiqlal Mosque here.
Prime Minister Modi, who is on a five-day three-nation tour to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, reached Jakarta last evening.
He began his first official engagement in the Indonesian capital by laying a wreath at the Kalibata National Heroes Cemetery and was then accorded a ceremonial welcome with a guard of honour at the Istana Merdeka-one of the six presidential palaces of Indonesia.
The aim of the visit is to enhance India's relations and engagements with all the three countries, which forms Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)