Jakarta, Dec. 24 -- Indonesia's interior minister on Wednesday urged regional governments with large unused budgets to help speed up recovery in disaster-hit parts of Sumatra, calling for solidarity to support areas struggling to rebuild after a series of calamities.

"I strongly hope that colleagues who still have substantial funds sitting unused will help our brothers and sisters by channeling assistance through their regional leaders, transferring funds and using them for disaster response," Interior Minister Tito Karnavian said in Jakarta.

The message was delivered during a virtual meeting evaluating the realization of 2025 regional budgets, attended by governors, mayors and district heads from across the country and hosted from the ...