Thai govt to give 30,000 tons of rice to Haiti

BANGKOK, 20 January 2010 (NNT) – The government will transport about 30,000 tons of rice to help Haitian victims in the beginning of September 2010 after a magnitude 7.0 quake rocked the Caribbean country of Haiti on 12 January.

As the chair of the Haiti Donation Center, Prime Minister’s Office Minister Virachai Virameteekul stated that more than 30,000 tons of rice worth 300 million THB would be sent to the country by ship early February. He elaborated that the donation would be transported three times.

Mr Virachai added that the Thai government would give assistance to Haiti continuously ranging from urgent aids to long-term rehabilitation.

The short-term assistance includes 33 million THB cash donation given to the Thai Embassy to Mexico City to purchase medical supplies and other necessities. The long-term relief will include road and telecommunication reconstruction and medical staff provision under the cooperation frame of the UN and World Health Organization.

The minister also invites all Thai people to donate their money in order to aid all victims in Haiti via the “Ruam Nam Jai Chao Thai Chual Phu Prasoppai Haiti fund (Thais help Haitian victims fund),” the Krung Thai Bank’s Government House branch, savings account No. 067-0-05765-7, from now on.