CIDCA vice-chairman chairs UN meeting on Myanmar quake relief efforts

Zhao Fengtao, vice-chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA), chaired a United Nations (UN) video conference on humanitarian aid for earthquake-hit  Myanmar on April 3.

Zhao said China and Myanmar are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and waters, forming a community with a shared future that helps each other in tough times. To this end, he said that the CIDCA has implemented the Chinese government's instructions on quake relief work in Myanmar, and provided immediate assistance in emergency rescue, material supplies and finance.

Zhao added that adhering to genuine multilateralism, China has actively communicated and coordinated with UN agencies and international humanitarian organizations, and given full play to the role of the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund to advance humanitarian assistance and post-disaster reconstruction.

He said he hoped that all international organizations will work with the Chinese government to advance multilateral and bilateral relief efforts in Myanmar, as well as fully tap into the expertise and resources of each party to push forward reconstruction.

Representatives of international organizations lauded the Chinese government's immediate comprehensive assistance to Myanmar and its leading role in helping the country cope with the humanitarian crisis. Noting that socio-economic development and the lives of people in Myanmar have suffered severe damage and many vulnerable people, including women and children, remain in urgent need of assistance, they said they are willing to work closely with the CIDCA to strengthen coordination, complement each other's strengths, carry out cooperation on emergency relief, post-disaster reconstruction and disaster prevention and mitigation projects, and help people in disaster-hit areas rebuild their homes.

Officials from the CIDCA's Department of International Cooperation and First Department of Regional Affairs, and the Department of Asian Affairs of China's Foreign Ministry attended the meeting. Meeting participants also included representatives of dozens of UN agencies in China, Myanmar and the Asia-Pacific region, such as UN Resident Coordinator in China Siddharth Chatterjee, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar Marcoluigi Corsi, and others from the World Health Organization, the World Food Programme, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, and the United Nations Organization for Migration.