ISLAMABAD, 20 December 2005 — US Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to visit Islamabad later this week, Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told Arab News yesterday.
Cheney’s visit is aimed at expressing solidarity with Pakistan over the Oct. 8 earthquake, she said.
The US vice president will meet President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, but there is no fixed agenda for discussions, Tasnim said.
Meanwhile, Bush senior, the former US president, who has been named UN envoy to oversee operations in quake-affected areas will visit Pakistan soon.
The schedule for Bush’s visit to Pakistan is being finalized with the United Nations, the spokeswoman said.
EU OKs More Aid for Quake Victims
The European Commission has approved a further $30 million in relief assistance for quake survivors, it said yesterday.
“The European Commission has adopted a 25 million euro ($30 million) humanitarian aid decision to provide further relief assistance to victims of the South Asian earthquake,” the EC said in a statement here.
This raises the amount of humanitarian aid provided by the EC to $58.3 million, it said. It has also pledged a further $60 million for rehabilitation and long-term reconstruction in the affected areas, bringing its total aid package to $118.4 million, the statement said. International donors and aid agencies are racing against the winter to rush aid to survivors facing a bitter Himalayan winter after the Oct. 8 earthquake that killed more than 73,000 people in Pakistan and 1,300 in India.
“The situation is grim for people living in the areas affected by the earthquake,” Louis Michel, European commissioner for development and humanitarian aid, said.
“The effects of the winter weather are increasingly being felt and it is essential that the international community step up its efforts to relieve the suffering,” Michel said in the statement. “With the onset of the winter, the Commission is very concerned that a secondary humanitarian disaster may occur if people remained stranded in mountainous areas unable to gain access to assistance,” the statement said. The latest EU aid package will help pay for emergency supplies such as blankets, tents, water and fuel as well as health care and sanitation.
Musharraf to Visit Davos
President Pervez Musharraf will be proceeding to the Swiss city of Davos to attend the World Economic Forum from January 23-29, 2006.
