Bangkok--26 May--UN About fifty countries will join together on Sunday, 23 May 2008, in Yangon for a meeting which aims to boost international humanitarian assistance to Myanmar in the wake of Cyclone Nargis. The pledging conference, jointly organized by the United Nations and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and hosted by the government of Myanmar, will also bring together UN agencies, the Red Cross movement and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). “The meeting intends to encourage cooperation in providing assistance to victims of Cyclone Nargis and to show that the international community is united in helping the people of Myanmar,” says John Holmes, the UN’s top humanitarian official. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who visited survivors in the worst affected areas and met the country’s top leaders on Thursday and Friday, will return to Myanmar on Sunday to address the meeting. General Thein Sein, the Prime Minister of Myanmar, and George Yeo, Foreign Minister of Singapore which is the current chair of ASEAN, will also address the opening of the conference. Cyclone Nargis, which struck Myanmar three weeks ago, has left about 130,000 people dead or missing and around 2.4 million people affected. The government of Myanmar will brief the meeting on the humanitarian situation and response to the cyclone. Mr. Holmes will present a joint ASEAN-UN briefing on international response to the disaster. Surin Pitsuwan, the Secretary-General of ASEAN, will talk about an ASEAN-led tripartite coordinating mechanism which also involves the UN and the government of Myanmar. The conference will open at 1100 at Sedona Hotel, Yangon. For further information, please contact: Mr. Aye Win, UN Information Centre Yangon +(95) 95 123 952 Ms. Sandra Chit Hpo, UN Information Centre Yangon +(95) 95 176 252 Mr. Hak-Fan Lau, UN Information Services Bangkok +(95) 95 513 241 (mobile phone in Yangon)