ASTANA – Kazakhstan sent about 500 tonnes of humanitarian aid on Jan. 6 to the people of Syria in the form of food, including flour, canned meat, rice, pasta and tea.
Photo credit: time.kz
Russian Ministry of Defense rendered its assistance in delivering the aid, which was brought by Kuznetsov dry-cargo ship to Tartus Port Jan. 5. The unloading and handover of the cargo to Syrian authorities began Jan. 6, Kazinform news agency reports. Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Jordan Azamat Berdybai handed the humanitarian aid to the Syrian side in the person of President of the Provincial Council of Tartus Yasser Dibba.
The Higher Relief Commission of the Syrian Arab Republic will oversee the distribution of the Kazakh aid.
“Although the international community takes all required efforts, the humanitarian situation in the country remains catastrophic. In this regard, President Nursultan Nazarbayev made a decision to send humanitarian aid, namely food, to Syria. The 500 tonnes of cargo delivered in 33 containers include primarily food and medications and are meant for the Syrian people suffering the consequences of the six-year-long war. Kazakhstan backs the measures launched by the international community and the actions of the Syrian authorities and the opposition aimed at speedy ceasefire and determining the political future of Syria by means of dialogue and reconciliation,” Berdybai said at a meeting with the Syrian delegation.
“We want to thank the people of Kazakhstan, Kazakh President Nazarbayev and the government of Kazakhstan for not being indifferent and neutral towards our situation and for expressing compassion and sending humanitarian aid,” the officials of Tartus Province said, according to the Kazakh media.
This is not the first aid Kazakhstan provided for the Syrian people. In 2012, Kazakhstan allocated $400,000 through the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to the governments of Jordan and Lebanon to provide humanitarian assistance to Syrians residing in refugee camps.
Also, in October 2015, at the end of negotiations between representatives of the Syrian opposition in Astana, Kazakhstan agreed to provide $316,600 in medicines, food and equipment for Syrian refugees based on the Turkish-Syrian border.
Kazakhstan has also offered to host additional Syrian peace talks in its capital city of Astana at the end of January. Two rounds of peace talks were held in Astana in 2015.
