Fresh batch of food aid from China distributed in Afghanistan

People receive food aid from China in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 7, 2022. A fifth batch of food aid from China was distributed on Thursday in Afghanistan amid a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country, which is suffering from an economic meltdown. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)

KABUL, April 8 (Xinhua) -- A fifth batch of food aid from China has been being distributed on Friday in Afghanistan amid a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country, which is suffering from an economic meltdown.

A distribution ceremony was held on Friday in the Afghan capital Kabul, attended by Afghan acting deputy minister of refugees and repatriation affairs of the caretaker government Arsala Kharoti and Economic and Commercial Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Afghanistan Hu Guo'ai.

The 600 tons of rice distributed this time is the fifth batch of food aid under the emergency humanitarian assistance from China.

Kharoti expressed gratitude to China for the humanitarian assistance, saying that China had provided packages of assistance including food and clothes in the past, which have been distributed to the needy Afghans.

China is a friendly neighbor of Afghanistan, and whenever Afghanistan needs help, the Chinese people always lend a helping hand in time, Kharoti noted.

Hu said the Chinese government pays close attention to the plight of the Afghan people under the influence of the epidemic, war and drought, and will do its best to provide assistance to Afghans.

Following the withdrawal of the U.S. troops from Afghanistan last August and the U.S. government freezing nearly 10 billion U.S. dollars of Afghan assets, the economic problems of Afganistan moved from bad to worse.

More than 22 million out of some 35 million population in Afghanistan, according to aid agencies reports, are facing acute food shortages and a humanitarian crisis.

The Chinese government announced last September that it has decided to provide food, winter supplies, COVID-19 vaccines, and medicines worth 200 million yuan (about 31.4 million U.S. dollars) in emergency humanitarian aid to Afghanistan.

China has provided a total of 6,220 tons of food aid to Afghanistan so far.

People wait to receive food aid from China in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 7, 2022. A fifth batch of food aid from China was distributed on Thursday in Afghanistan amid a humanitarian crisis in the war-torn country, which is suffering from an economic meltdown. (Photo by Saifurahman Safi/Xinhua)