Germany's Minister of Foreign Affairs Joschka Fischer arrived in the provincial capital of Aceh Friday to tour the area of Indonesia worst hit by the tsunami and visit German relief efforts. Fischer arrived at Banda Aceh's airport at about 10:45 a.m. (0345 GMT). He was the latest in a series of foreign dignitaries to visit the province since the massive earthquake and tsunami flattened thousands of homes and other buildings along Aceh's coastline on December 26. After meeting with German aid workers at the local non-governmental organizations (NGO) camps in Lhoknga sub-district, Fischer indicated of changes in aid to Indonesia. "There will be a change now because there is a transformation between emergency aid reconstruction," Fischer told reporters, adding that he has been informed by Indonesian government officials about the preparation for the transformation period. "We are ready if the Indonesian government agree for a long-term commitment to reconstruction to help people in Aceh," Fischer said after seeing the destruction first hand. Aceh was the hardest hit area in the region by the disaster due to its close proximity to the epicentre of the 9.0-magnitude earthquake that sent gigantic waves inland. The confirmed death toll in Indonesia from the tsunami was tallied at 117,019 on Friday, with nearly 232,000 listed as either dead or missing, according to the Health Ministry's data. After visiting Lhoknga, the foreign affairs minister then visited the camp of the German Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW), before proceeding to the Aceh's General Hospital, Zainoel Abidin, where the German Mobile Army Surgical Hospital is located. Fischer is also expected to meet with Minister of Transportation Hatta Radjasa before departing. --more 1328 Local Time 1028 GMT
