KABUL: China has delivered the first batch of humanitarian assistance to the Taliban’s interim government in Afghanistan.
Beijing’s envoy to Kabul says aid includes warm materials, blankets, cotton clothe and emergency supplies. The first batch of humanitarian aid by China landed in Afghanistan on Wednesday night, an official said.
“Handed over the first batch of aid mainly including warm materials such as blankets and cotton clothes,” Wang Yu, China’s ambassador to Afghanistan, said on Twitter. Khalil-ur-Rehman Haqqani, Afghanistan’s acting minister of refugees, received the aid at Kabul airport.
“The assistance shows deep love and friendship of Chinese people to Afghan people and reflects China’s role as a major country that keeps its promises and is kind to its neighbors, which is a great move to build a community with a shared future for mankind,” Wang added.
Wang said that amidst many difficulties, China has managed to arrange the emergency humanitarian aid materials for Afghanistan in a short time, which included blankets, down jackets and other winter supplies urgently needed by the Afghan people.
1/2Handed over the first batch of aid mainly including warm materials such as blankets and cotton clothes provided by China to the Ministry of Refugees. pic.twitter.com/xjsRxRfvh6
— Wang Yu 王愚 (@ChinaEmbKabul) September 29, 2021
He said China will continue to prepare for other materials, including food aid, which are expected to arrive soon. . Haqqani thanked China for providing the emergency supplies. Terming China as a “good neighbour and friend of Afghanistan”, he hoped China could provide further assistance in future.
China earlier this month had promised $31million in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan which saw an end to the war with the exit of all foreign forces in August after the Taliban regained control of the war-torn country.
Beijing will focus on the winter needs of the Afghan people and will include food grain, vaccine stocks, and medicines. Humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan comes at a time when the UN has warned of a major humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
The world body held a major fundraising conference in Geneva on Sept. 13 where over $1billion in funds were promised by various countries to help the Afghan people. China is yet to officially recognise the Taliban’s interim government but has kept its embassy in Kabul open.
