Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation wishes to thank you for convening this meeting and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his briefing on the situation in Nepal in the aftermath of the earthquake. We would like to extend our sincere condolences and sympathies to the government and people of Nepal and to express our appreciation for countries, regional and international organizations and all other parties that have been actively participating in and supporting the rescue and relief efforts in Nepal. The unanimous adoption of this Resolution "Strengthening Emergency Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction in Response to the Devastating Effects of the Earthquake in Nepal", initiated by Nepal and Spain and co-sponsored by China and a great number of countries, shows the solidarity of the international community in working together to overcome this disaster.

The devastating earthquake on April 25th and its aftershocks have inflicted heavy human and economic losses on Nepal and severely damaged Nepal's economic and social development and infrastructure. As a least developed country and a landlocked developing country, Nepal is in urgent need of sustained international support and assistance for disaster relief, rehabilitation, post-disaster reconstruction and long-term development. While working to meet the urgent needs of the affected population, members of the international community must support the priority areas identified by the Nepalese government, such as disaster prevention, preparedness and reconstruction, help Nepal with capacity building in disaster response and ensure effective coordination of international efforts with Nepal's national endeavors.

Nepal is a close and friendly neighbor of China. Our two peoples are like brothers and sisters. The Chinese government and people share the pains of the Nepalese people. Immediately after the Earthquake, President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang sent messages of condolences to their Nepalese counterparts to express the solidarity of the Chinese government and people with the Nepalese government and people, and to pledge our readiness to provide all possible help to Nepal's rescue and relief efforts.

The Chinese international rescue team, the Chinese government medical team and the Chinese military rescue, relief and medical teams arrived in Nepal immediately after the earthquake and started their work in search and rescue, medical treatment, epidemic prevention and control and personnel training. So far, over 1000 Chinese nationals sent by the Chinese Government, military and Police are working in Nepal, performing the biggest international humanitarian rescue and relief operation outside China since the founding of the People's Republic.

After the earthquake, the Chinese government promptly announced two batches of emergency humanitarian aid to Nepal, totaling 60 million RMB yuan or about 10 million US dollars. China delivered 650 tons of tents, generators, water purification facilities, blankets and other emergency supplies to Nepal by over 40 flights. Following the strong aftershock on May 12th, the Chinese government announced another batch of emergency aid totaling 80 million RMB yuan or about 13 million US dollars. The relief goods and supplies are being prepared and will reach the disaster-stricken areas as soon as possible.

Many Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, non-governmental organizations as the Red Cross Society of China, the Chinese Foundation for Poverty Alleviation and the Blue Sky Rescue and Relief Team, as well as enterprises and individual citizens in China also donated cash and in kind for Nepal. This demonstrates the broad and solid social foundation for China-Nepal friendship.

In the days and months to come, the Chinese government will maintain close communication with the Nepalese government on the latest situation in the aftermath of the earthquake as well as the needs for disaster relief. Based on the needs of the government and people of Nepal, China will provide all kinds of assistance within its means in such areas as medical treatment, epidemic prevention and control, temporary shelter for the displaced people and post-disaster reconstruction.

We are convinced that with the help of the international community, the Nepalese government and people will surely overcome the disaster and rebuild their homes.

Thank you, Mr. President.