Foreign and Military Affairs

China delivers more aid to flood-hit Pakistan

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-08-25 22:05

BEIJING - More relief supplies, worth 20 million yuan ($2.94 million), have been sent from China to flood-hit Pakistan, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said in a statement Wednesday.

The shipments mainly contained urgently-needed daily necessities, including grain, cooking oil, flour, sugar, salt and medicine, the ministry said in a brief notice on its website.

The supplies are to be transported through a land route to the Sust dry port near the Pakistan-China border from Kashgar in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the statement said.

However, the ministry did not say when the supplies would arrive, as workers were still rushing to repair the road linking Kashgar and Khunjerab Pass.

China is one the first countries to respond to the relief needs of Pakistan when it was hit by the worst floods in 81 years. China's first delivery of aid, worth 10 million yuan, was delivered on August 4. So far, 40 million yuan worth of supplies provided by China have arrived in Pakistan.

China decided to offer an additional 60 million yuan of relief supplies to Pakistan, MOC official Chong Quan announced Wednesday while meeting with Masood Khan, Pakistani ambassador to China.

Masood Khan, on behalf of the Pakistani government and people, expressed his gratitude for China's assistance, saying the food, tents and medicine provided by the Chinese government were Pakistan's most urgently needed materials.