QNA
Doha
The State of Qatar and the United Kingdom have 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 Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, Minister of State for International Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and David Cameron, Foreign Secretary of the friendly United Kingdom, the first shipment of joint aid amounting to 29 tonnes was sent from Doha, which later arrived in the city of Al Arish in the sisterly Arab Republic of Egypt, on board a plane belonging to the Qatari Armed Forces, and includes food and shelter supplies.
The joint humanitarian aid shipment to the Gaza Strip comes in light of the catastrophic humanitarian conditions that the Strip is going through and the desire of 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 on international development and humanitarian aid between the two countries on the sidelines of the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, which Doha hosted in March of last year.
Al Khater expressed Qatar’s aspiration to enhance joint cooperation with the United Kingdom to deliver humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, pointing to development and humanitarian cooperation with the British side in Somalia as well.
She 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, stressing 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.
For his part, the UK Foreign Secretary expressed his country’s appreciation for the humanitarian and development partnership with Qatar, expressing his gratitude to Qatar for its humanitarian efforts in the Gaza Strip.
