Sub-Regional Meeting on Counterterrorism Postponed After Lombok Earthquakes
Jakarta. Chief Security Minister Wiranto postponed a sub-regional meeting on counterterrorism scheduled for Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, on Monday (06/08), after two powerful earthquakes rocked the island on Sunday evening.
"All the delegations scheduled to participate in the meeting are safe and sound. However, because of the earthquakes, we have decided to postpone the event," Wiranto said, as quoted in a statement on Sunday.
He encouraged delegates to return to their respective countries as soon as possible.
The quakes occurred while a gala dinner welcoming the delegates was underway, the ministry said in the statement.
Although the main event was scheduled for Monday, Wiranto held meetings with delegates from Australia, Myanmar, Singapore and New Zealand on Sunday.
The two earthquakes, one of a magnitude 6.8 and the other 7.0, occurred off the north coast of Lombok on Sunday evening, followed by secondary quakes and dozens of aftershocks, just a week after a 6.4-magnitude quake hit the island.
The National Disaster Management Agency (BNPB) reported on Monday that 91 people were killed and hundreds injured in the tremors. A tsunami warning was issued but has since been lifted.
Small waves of less than half a meter were reported in several areas along the northern coasts of Lombok and Bali, the Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) said.
The quakes were also felt on nearby Bali Island.
Meanwhile, the Bali Process meeting in Nusa Dua will proceed as scheduled on Monday and Tuesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement sent via WhatsApp.
The meeting, which seeks to boost cooperation on combating human trafficking and transnational crime, will be co-chaired by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Australian counterpart, Julie Bishop.
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