Japan, RI exploring cooperation in bird flu vaccine production

"Japan understands Indonesia`s strong desire to develop its own capacity in the production of bird flu vaccines and medicines to help overcome the spread of endemic bird flu," Chairman of National Commission for Bird Flu Control, Bayu Krisnamurthi said here on Wednesday.

Krisnamurthi said that Japan and Indonesia had been holding talks on possible bilateral cooperation in the production of bird flu vaccines.

He said the talks were aimed at building mutual understanding on the form of cooperation based on the principles of the World Health Organization (WHO) but in support of Indonesia`s desire to build its capacity in producing its own medicines without depending too much on foreign assistance.

"This is badly needed considering the fact that the pandemic of the disease is found in Indonesia. Indonesia is required to have the ability to provide medicines and prevent the spread of the disease in a short time," he said.