Foreign and Military Affairs

UN chief praises China's role in Haiti relief

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-03-05 13:34

JERUSALEM: A senior UN official praised China's role in humanitarian relief work after Haiti earthquake in January during an interview with Xinhua on Thursday.

"I'm very glad to see that China contributes significantly to the relief program in Haiti," said John Holmes, UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

Holmes expressed his hope for increasing engagement by China in the multilateral humanitarian system. "I'm encouraged and hope that movement will continue and go much further in the future," he added.

The British diplomat also looked forward to seeing a bigger role of China in contributing its experience in coping with natural disasters.

Holmes especially mentioned China's developed expertise in search-and-rescue and in medical attention. "That experience can be shared and put to good use in other parts of the world," he said.

During his visit to China last April, the UN humanitarian chief spoke highly of China's disaster reduction and relief work of the Wenchuan earthquake.

Holmes was referring to a devastating earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter Scale, which struck Wenchuan county, in China's southwest Sichuan province on May 12, 2008. The quake killed about 69,000 people and injured about 374,000 others.