Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Indonesia through the BUMN (State-owned Enterprises/SOEs) Foundation has received 150 ventilators donated by New Yorkers.

The aid was handed over by United States Ambassador to Indonesia Sung Kim to Indonesian SOEs Minister Erick Thohir at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, in Tangerang district, Banten province, on Tuesday (Aug. 17).

In a written statement received here Tuesday, Erick said that in early 2021, the Ministry of SOEs established an independent BUMN Foundation to collect donations from the private sectors in handling the COVID-19.

Since the establishment of the foundation, many private companies have collaborated in collecting and distributing aids for handling the COVID-19.

The Indonesian government appreciates the assistance from the people and the U.S. government.

According to Erick, the U.S. is one of the countries that pays attention to Indonesia during the pandemic.

"I think the friendship between the two countries is a sincere friendship as it could build each other up, moreover, both countries are founded on the same philosophy of democracy," he said.

Meanwhile, Ambassador Sung Kim said that the assistance of 150 ventilators for Indonesia was an initiative of New Yorkers to help the latter deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ambassador added that the assistance which came from the people in the largest city in the U.S. showed that without the government’s involvement, U.S. companies and the private sectors continued to provide support to assist Indonesia in dealing with the pandemic.

So far, the U.S. government has donated 8 million doses of vaccine, 1,000 ventilators, and provided more than 65 million dollars to help Indonesia overcome the pandemic.

"Along with our partnership to defeat the pandemic and move forward towards the rapid economic recovery, allow me to wish all of Indonesia's friends a happy independence day. Indonesia is strong, Indonesia is growing," said Ambassador Sung Kim.

Reporting by Indonesia Window