COLOMBO, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- The emergency humanitarian flood relief supplies provided by the Chinese government arrived in Colombo on Monday morning and were handed over to the Sri Lankan side.
Chinese Ambassador to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong, Sri Lanka's Minister of Ports and Civil Aviation Anura Karunathilake, and Deputy Minister of Defense Aruna Jayasekera attended the handover ceremony.
Karunathilake expressed sincere gratitude for China's timely and generous assistance, noting that the supplies delivered on Monday are exactly what Sri Lanka urgently needs.
He stressed that China has always extended a helping hand to Sri Lanka at every difficult moment over the years. In the face of the current disaster, the Chinese government, Chinese enterprises and Chinese people in Sri Lanka have provided significant support, he added.
He thanked the Chinese government and people for their selfless assistance and reaffirmed his hope that the friendship between Sri Lanka and China will endure.
Qi said that, in the face of this severe natural disaster, all relevant Chinese departments acted swiftly to extend a helping hand to Sri Lankan friends. The supplies, which included tents, bed sheets, life jackets, and blankets, were part of the Chinese government's humanitarian assistance to Sri Lanka.
Chinese companies and overseas Chinese in Sri Lanka have also taken active steps to contribute to local disaster relief efforts, he noted, stressing that China's all-round support once again demonstrates that China is a trustworthy and reliable good friend and true friend of Sri Lanka.
China will, as always, continue to assist Sri Lanka within its capacity, work together to overcome the difficulties, and jointly build a China-Sri Lanka community with a shared future, he added.
According to Sri Lanka's Disaster Management Center, the country recently suffered severe damage due to the extreme weather triggered by Cyclone Ditwah, which left more than 600 people dead, affected more than 2 million people, destroyed more than 4,000 houses and partially damaged more than 60,000 houses nationwide. ■
