(Photograph by Shen Hong/ Xinhua News Agency)

 

Mr. President,

The Chinese delegation wishes to thank you, as well as Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Foreign Minister Qureshi of Pakistan for the briefings on the latest developments of the floods in Pakistan and the relief efforts made by the international community. I also wish to thank you for convening this General Assembly plenary session on this special day, the World Humanitarian Day. It gives us an opportunity to review the great significance of both respecting the guiding principles for the provision of humanitarian assistance and strengthening international cooperation and UN coordination on humanitarian relief activities．

Mr. President,

The rarely seen massive floods during this year's monsoon season in Pakistan has affected about 20 million people, and left thousands of people dead or missing．On behalf of the Chinese government and people, I wish to express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the government and people of Pakistan for the loss of life and property caused by the recent floods in Pakistan.

We have noted that, under the leadership and with the coordination of the Pakistani Government, the relief efforts are now in full swing. The Chinese government also commends the timely and effective response of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, relevant UN agencies and the CERF to support disaster relief efforts of Pakistan.

Immediately after the flooding occurred, China provided humanitarian support and assistance to Pakistan, showing the profound friendship between the Chinese and Pakistani governments and people．On August 4,around 80 tons of urgently needed relief supplies provided by the Chinese government arrived at Islamabad, including tents, medicine, power generators and water purification equipment worth 10 million RMB yuan.

The latest developments suggest that the flooding in Pakistan may pose an unprecedented humanitarian challenge．The monsoon rains in the weeks ahead will once again put to test the humanitarian response capacity of Pakistan and the international community. The flood is merciless, but the world is full of sympathy and compassion. As tens of million of people in the affected areas in Pakistan, including several million children waiting anxiously for food, drinking water, medicine and temporary shelters, we must take action immediately to pool our collective efforts and mobilize all available relief resources and moral support.

In this regard, the Chinese government has decided to provide an additional 50 million RMB yuan worth of humanitarian supplies to the Pakistani government. The first batch of relief supplies has been shipped to the affected areas on August 19, which included 30 tons of food, 1,200 tents,1,000 power generators,23,800 blankets as well as medicine, mineral water and water purification equipment. Other supplies will be shipped on August 20．The Chinese government will continue to do what it can to provide assistance to Pakistan in the light of the developments of the disaster.

Mr. President,

I also wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the General Assembly on adopting the resolution on Pakistan flooding by consensus yesterday. The resolution sends a timely, positive and strong message of solidarity to the international community. It will also inject new impetus into the international efforts to support Pakistan in disaster relief, recovery and reconstruction.

Thank you, Mr. President.