#Iran gives US$100m aid to #Pakistan over flood damage

TEHRAN, Sep 14: Iran has dedicated a USD 100-million sum for the reconstruction projects in the flood-stricken country of Pakistan, according to the head of the Iranian Organization for Crisis Management.

Following last year's devastating floods, the sum is due to be directed towards the reconstruction of public places such as hospitals and mosques in Pakistan, IRNA quoted Hasan Qadami as saying on Tuesday.

“Furthermore, a 110-ton consignment of necessary foodstuff and relief tents will be dispatched to Karachi in the coming two days,” the deputy minister of Iran's interior added.


The floods -- the worst in Pakistan's recorded history -- started in July 2010, caused by heavy torrential monsoon rains, affected more than 20 million people, and left about 10 million homeless.

Last month, the Head of Pakistan's Red Crescent Society Nilofar Bakhtiar called on the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) to establish a permanent representative office in the country during a meeting with the IRCS Secretary General Zaher Rostami.

During the meeting, Rostami said that the IRCS plans to construct two health centers in Pakistan, adding that the IRCS will start the project as soon as Pakistan's Red Crescent Society gives the go-ahead.

Iran was among the first countries to send aid to Pakistan and has announced its readiness to participate in the reconstruction of the country's flood-ravaged regions.