Nepal agrees to accept Malaysia’s SMART team

Last week, floods and landslides devastated Nepal's Rasuwa district, prompting ongoing rescue operations. Malaysia's Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) has been granted permission to join these efforts. The National Disaster Management Agency (Nadma) announced the decision after several days of negotiations led by Wisma Putra. The SMART team is scheduled to depart for Nepal on Saturday, with personnel gathering at the Royal Malaysian Air Force mosque at 7am before heading to the Subang airbase.

Nadma stated that any changes to the mission schedule will be communicated periodically. Nepal had initially declined offers from foreign search-and-rescue teams, claiming its own rescuers were capable of managing the operations. However, this stance was reversed due to diplomatic pressure. Defence Minister Khaled Nordin clarified that Nepal would only accept aid in the form of goods, not foreign rescue personnel, to prevent potential coordination issues involving multiple foreign teams. Malaysia's SMART team is prepared for deployment at any time.

Initially, the disaster left 132 Malaysians unaccounted for. Of these, 77 individuals have been located and will be brought to Kathmandu to return to Malaysia, while the remaining 55 remain missing.