China to offer emergency food aid to drought-afflicted Horn of Africa countries: FM

BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday China is going to provide emergency food aid to countries affected by drought in the Horn of Africa.

Wang made the announcement during his telephone conversation with Somali Foreign Minister Abdisaid Muse Ali.

To help Somalia and other countries in the Horn of Africa cope with drought, China will provide a batch of emergency food aid to Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Djibouti, he said, adding that the aid is another practical action taken by the Chinese side to implement the "Outlook on Peace and Development in the Horn of Africa."

Wang noted that China put forward this outlook at the beginning of the year to support regional countries, as their own masters, in jointly tackling the triple challenges of security, development and governance, and achieve lasting peace, stability, development and prosperity.

In order to strengthen communication and coordination with relevant countries, and jointly push forward the implementation of the outlook, China appointed a special envoy for the Horn of Africa affairs last week and now announces the emergency food aid to relevant countries in the Horn of Africa, Wang said.

He added that the Chinese side is taking concrete actions to implement the outlook and support the development of the Horn of Africa.