BEIJING: Luo Zhaohui, Director of China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) announced that China will provide relief supplies worth 300 million yuan to Pakistan to help the country cope with the flood devastation.
He announced the message while meeting with Chairman National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan Lieutenant General AKhtar Nawaz via video, Gwadar Pro reported on Sunday.
Luo Zhaohui requested the Pakistani side to provide a list of urgently needed supplies at an early date and determine the mode of transportation so that the Chinese assistance can reach the flood victims as soon as possible.
He highlighted the higher-than-mountain, deeper-than-sea, and sweeter-than-honey all-weather friendship between the two countries, recalling that during the Wenchuan Earthquake in China in 2008, Pakistan sent all its tents in stock to the stricken area.
At the onset of the flood in Pakistan, Chinese military aircrafts carried 3,000 tents for assistance. China has also raised 200 tons of onions as needed by Pakistan, which will arrive in Pakistan via the Karakoram Highway within a week.
The China Meteorological Administration has also been providing real-time weather forecasts to Pakistan. Ordinary Chinese people, enterprises and local governments are also raising donations in cash and kind, manifesting the iron-clad friendship between the two countries.
He said that in the next step, China is ready to share the experience in disaster relief and provide support in post-disaster reconstruction.
Lieutenant General AKhtar Nawaz, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan, thanked Chinese leadership and Chinese people for their assistance. He briefed that the first batch of tents provided by China has reached the flood-stricken areas.
He introduced in detail the latest situation and relief efforts in Pakistan, shared specific needs in the following step and expressed readiness to cooperate with China in distributing relief supplies.
Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Nong Rong, Consul General in Karachi Li Bijian, Pakistani Ambassador to China Moin ul Haque, and members from the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Emergency Management, the Bureau of Meteorology and other departments of China attended the video meeting.
