15th February, 2018 The Chinese Government paid great attention to the situation of the disaster after the Kingdom of Tonga was attacked by the severe cyclone Gita on February 12, 2018. Honorable Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of China sent a message to Honorable Akilisi Pohiva, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tonga on February 13, extending heartfelt sympathy to the Government and people of Tonga, vowing that China is ready to provide emergency disaster relief assistance within its capacity, and believing that with the joint efforts of the Tongan government and people, Tonga will be able to overcome the disaster and rebuild the country.
To help Tonga counter the disaster, the Chinese Government has decided to provide 500,000 U.S. dollars of emergency humanitarian assistance by remittance to the Tongan Government. The Red Cross Society of China has offered 100,000 U.S. dollars of emergency humanitarian assistance by remittance to the Red Cross Society of Tonga. The Chinese Embassy in Tonga will also donate 40,000 Pa’anga by remittance for the relief work. Furthermore, the Chinese side will continue to actively help the Tongan government and people fight against the disaster and rebuild the country according to the need of the Tongan side.
On February 15, His Excellency Wang Baodong, Chinese Ambassador to Tonga met with Honorable Prime Minister Pohiva and beriefed him on the above mentioned assistance. Prime Minister Pohiva expressed sincere gratitude to the sympathy from the Chinese Government and Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the considerable assistance provided by China. He said that Tonga looks forward to China’s participation in the post-disaster reconstruction of Tonga and is ready to keep communication with the Chinese side on the recovery effort.
ENDS
Issued by the: Chinese Embassy, Tonga