$10m aid pledge for Myanmar

2008-05-24 14:35

Yingxiu - China will pledge $10m for Myanmar cyclone aid at an international donors' conference, Premier Wen Jiabao says.

Wen's announcement came as he and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited earthquake-hit areas of China.

Donor governments planned to meet on Sunday in the Myanmar city of Yangon to pledge aid for survivors of the country's devastating cyclone, which killed at least 78 000 people.

"Tomorrow, the Chinese foreign minister will go to Myanmar, and we will pledge $10m in aid," Wen said. Beijing already had given its ally Myanmar relief supplies valued at $4.3m.

The United Nations launched an emergency appeal for $187m on May 09 and then raised the amount to $201m. That figure would likely increase further once disaster relief experts were able to survey Myanmar's hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta.

Ban was to co-chair Sunday's donors conference, attended by officials from more than 45 countries and regional organisations. The conference was being sponsored by the UN and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

- AP