First batch of humanitarian aid from China arrives in Kabul

The first batch of humanitarian aid donated by China arrived in Afghanistan's capital Kabul on Wednesday evening.

Khalil-ur-Rahman Haqqani, Afghanistan's acting minister for refugees, jointly hosted a handover ceremony for the aid at the Kabul International Airport with Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu.

Wang said that Afghanistan was affected by drought, the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unstable situation this year, and especially, the recent fundamental changes, the establishment of the interim government and the gradual restoration of normal order.

All parties in Afghanistan are in urgent need of support and assistance from the international community, Wang said, adding that China, as a friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, has always paid close attention to the needs of the Afghan people.

Chinese leaders have recently attended several meetings of multilateral mechanisms related to Afghanistan, announcing on many occasions its plan for aid and calling on the international community to provide emergency humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

China has overcome numerous difficulties and delivered supplies to Kabul in a short period of time. This is a strong testimony that China has earnestly fulfilled its assistance commitment to Afghanistan and made every effort to help the Afghan people tide over difficulties, said Wang.

"The supplies that arrived today are mainly blankets and down jackets that are urgently needed by the Afghan people this winter," said Wang.

Going forward, China will continue to speed up the preparation of other supplies and food, and make a delivery to Afghanistan at the earliest date, Wang added.

At present, Afghanistan still faces serious challenges such as a humanitarian crisis, livelihoods and COVID-19. The international community should work in unison to help the Afghan people out of their plight, Wang said.

Some countries, in particular, as the initiator of the difficult situation in Afghanistan, should more earnestly honor their commitments to Afghanistan, shoulder their due responsibilities and obligations and do more good and practical things to ease the difficulties faced by the Afghan people as soon as possible.

Haqqani said that China is a good neighbor and friend of Afghanistan and has provided emergency humanitarian aid in a timely manner to the Afghan people in the most difficult period. He expressed deep gratitude for that and hopes that China can extend further assistance in the future.

"China is our neighbor, we appreciate this aid. This time China helped us at the right time. we hope it continues to provide aid, which will be a symbol of the good friendship between the two countries," Haqqani said at the ceremony.

The minister said that Afghanistan is in urgent need of assistance from the international community in various fields as it faces extremely severe economic difficulties. Afghanistan will also honor its relevant commitments to its neighbors and the international community. At the same time, the assets frozen by the United States and other countries belong to the Afghan people, and must be released as soon as possible to benefit them.

At a meeting of foreign ministers of Afghanistan's neighboring countries on Sept 8, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi pledged 200-million-yuan (about 31 million U.S. dollars) worth of emergency aid to the Afghan people, including food, winter essentials, vaccines, and medicines.