China brings plane load of relief goods to Sri Lanka

The Chinese Chartered flight carrying disaster relief goods landed at the Bandaranaike International Airport at 2 p.m. on 3 June, Saturday.

The hand-over ceremony of relief goods took place with the presence of Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang, Foreign Minister Ravi Karunanayake and Disaster Management Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa.

The Chinese government has taken measures to donate emergency humanitarian disaster relief goods worth a total amount of RMB 15 million (about $ 2.2 million) to Sri Lankan people who were affected by floods and landslides. The relief goods include 600 tents, 20,000 blankets, 5,000 bed sheets, 20,000 life jackets, 1,000 rain boot and life jacket urgently needed by Sri Lanka.

“The Chinese government and the people of China convey the sympathies to the people who were hit by the bad weather in Sri Lanka. We will continue to support Sri Lanka to our best. China will always stand up by Sri Lanka and the relationship between the two countries will be strengthened further,” said Chinese Ambassador Yi Xianliang. 

“I highly appreciate China’s spontaneous support to Sri Lanka in this difficult moment. As a country, Sri Lanka will have to do more to re-build the country, rehabilitate damaged roads, houses, infrastructure, etc. Our disaster management authorities are doing an excellent job, at present,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ravi Karunanayake

“China as a friendly country has come up with a large sum of relief items for the benefit of victims of the inclement weather. Under my ministry, we have a systematic mechanism to distribute all the relief items efficiently and expeditiously,” Minister of Disaster Management Anura Priyadarshana Yapa noted.