The Indonesian government will deliver 5,000 tons of rice as humanitarian aid to drought-stricken Sri Lanka according to Tempo.

President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo said the food aid had personally been requested by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena.

“I have responded to the request since it was urgently needed,” Jokowi said at the warehouse of state-owned logistic agency Bulog in Jakarta on Tuesday, February 14, 2017.

Having a close relationship with Sri Lanka, Jokowi went on, Indonesia feels the need to help the country. He expects the relevant ministry to immediately send the humanitarian aid.

On the same occasion, Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that Indonesia and Sri Lanka have a very long history together. The two countries were the co-founder of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Retno noted that the humanitarian aid is part of Indonesia’s diplomacy, adding that it will continue. “We want to contribute to world peace and prosperity,” she said.

Earlier in late December last year, Indonesia sent humanitarian aid to the Rohingya people in Rakhine State, Myanmar.