REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, BOGOR -- Indonesia will send a company of soldiers from the Army's engineering directorate to Fiji to help reconstruction process after Cyclone Winston tore across the South Pacific country last month, an official said.

"Besides sending soldiers from the Army's engineering directorate, our government will also hand over humanitarian aid to Fiji," deputy for communication, information and apparatuses coordination to the coordinating minister for political, legal and security affairs Vice Marshal Agus Ruchyan Barnas said on Sunday.

The plan to send soldiers from the Army's engineering directorate and hand over humanitarian aid to Fiji is part of the agenda of the Indonesian delegation's visits to Papua New Guinea and Fiji from March 30 to April 1 in a bid to forge bilateral relations between Indonesia and South Pacific countries, he said.

The delegation will consist of representatives from the relevant ministries and agencies, including the National Disaster Mitigation Board (BNPB), the Foreign Ministry, and the Indonesian Military (TNI).

Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan will lead the delegation.

The delegation will leave Halim Perdanakusuma Air Base in Jakarta on Monday morning (March 28) by TNI plane for the Papua provincial capital of Jayapura en route to Papua New Guinea and Fiji.

"Our delegation will spend the night in Jayapura for two days before proceeding their trip to Papua New Guinea and Fiji," he said.

While visiting Port Moresby on April 30, Luhut is expected to meet with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill.

From Port Moersby, the Indonesian delegation will continue their trip to Suva, capital of Fiji where they will stay from March 31 to April 1.

Tens of thousands of people in Fiji are living in evacuation centres after Cyclone Winston tore across the South Pacific country last week, the United Nations Children's Fund has said.

The total number of people forced from their homes in the archipelago nation of more than 300 islands is expected to be much higher as many fled to relatives and are not included in the data.

Cyclone Winston, the worst storm recorded in the southern hemisphere, left 42 people dead, according to Fiji's National Disaster Management Office.

The category-five storm also left many without water and it could be weeks before electricity is restored in some areas.

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