Iraq sends 4,000 tons of aid to Pakistan

BASRA / IraqiNews.com: The General Company for Ports of Iraq embarked on shipping 4,000 tons of foodstuffs in relief aid as a gift from the Iraqi people to the Republic of Pakistan, according to a GCPI media official on Saturday. “The Iraqi trade ministry, in association with the World Food Program (WFP) and coordination with GCPI, started loading 4,000 tons of foodstuffs in relief aid into the ships anchored at Basra’s Umm Qasr Port to send to Pakistan,” Inmar al-Safi told IraqiNews.com news agency. “The relief is a gift from the people of Iraq to the Republic of Pakistan, which is currently suffering from natural disasters,” he added. Safi noted that an official ceremony will be held on Monday on the occasion of these ships’ departure from Umm Qasr to Pakistan. The oil-rich port city of Basra, Iraq’s only outlet to international waterways, lies 590 km south of the Iraqi capital Baghdad. AmR (P) 32