Doha, January 25 (QNA) - The State of Qatar and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland sent the first joint humanitarian aid shipment to the Gaza Strip within the framework of humanitarian and development cooperation between the two countries.
In the presence of HE Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater and HE Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom David Cameron, the first shipment of 29 tonnes of joint assistance was sent Thursday in Doha, which later arrived in the city of Al Arish in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, on board an aircraft of the Qatari Armed Forces, and includes food supplies and shelter materials.
The joint humanitarian aid shipment to the Gaza Strip comes in light of the catastrophic humanitarian conditions that the Strip is going through, and a desire by the two countries to work to increase the pace of aid reaching the Strip.
The Qatar Fund for Development and the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office signed a memorandum of understanding for strategic cooperation in the field of international development and humanitarian aid between the two countries, on the sidelines of the 5th United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which Doha hosted in March of last year.
HE Minister of State for International Cooperation expressed the State of Qatar's aspiration to enhance joint cooperation with the UK to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, pointing to development and humanitarian cooperation with the British side in Somalia as well.
Her Excellency stressed the keenness of the State of Qatar to cooperate with all international partners in order to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, underscoring in this regard the need for aid to reach all areas of the Strip in a sustainable manner without obstacles, especially with the increasing suffering in light of the catastrophic situation resulting from the continuation of the war and the siege.
For his part, HE the UK Foreign Secretary expressed his country's appreciation for the humanitarian and development partnership with the State of Qatar, expressing his gratitude to Qatar for its humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip. (QNA)