AIDA launches humanitarian aid campaign in Pakistan

/AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Azerbaijan International Development Agency (AIDA) has launched a humanitarian aid campaign in Sargodha and Hafizabad districts of Pakistan's Punjab province.

The event in Takht Hazara village brought together Managing Director of Bait-ul-Mal under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Abid Vahid Sheikh, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Pakistan Dashgin Shikarov, regional elders, provincial media representatives and victims of the recent flood in Pakistan, AzerTag state news agency reported.

Addressing the event, Abid Vahid Sheikh expressed his gratitude to the Azerbaijani government, people and AIDA for their humanitarian aid to the victims.

He said AIDA launched several humanitarian aid campaigns in October for the people affected by floods and torrential rains in the Punjab's Multan, Muzaffargarh, Layyah, Chiniot, Narowal, Sargodha, Mandi Bahauddin, Sialkot, Jhang districts as well as Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Bagh district.

Highlighting the activities of Bait-ul-Mal, Abid Vahid Sheikh mentioned that Azerbaijan has been cooperating closely with the organization since 2012.

Speaking on behalf of the flood victims, elder of the district Shahnavaz Raja spoke about the consequences of the natural disaster and extended his sincere gratitude to the Azerbaijani people and government for expressing sympathy with the victims' families by offering financial and moral help.

Ambassador Shikarov also hailed the relations between Azerbaijan and Pakistan.

He informed the participants about the activities of AIDA, stressing that the agency has carried out a number of projects and humanitarian aid campaigns in more than 30 countries of Latin America, Africa and Asia.

Shikarov also added that AIDA and the Heydar Aliyev Foundation have jointly carried out a water supply project in Dera Ismail Khan District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this May and provided tens of thousands of people with drinking water.

At the end of the event, the participants received food packages to the victims on behalf of AIDA.

AIDA, established under the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry in September 2011, is a responsible organ for provision of international humanitarian and development assistance by Azerbaijan and coordinates activities of relevant state agencies in this field.

AIDA's annual budget is formed by relevant allocations from the state budget. Its activities are structured in line and concurrent with the foreign policy of Azerbaijan.