By In the news today, the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has accepted the advice of the Disaster Relief Fund Advisory Committee and approved from the Disaster Relief Fund a grant of $1.523 million to Plan International Hong Kong for providing relief to drought victims in Ethiopia.
Announcing the grant on Tuesday, 8th of August, a spokesman for the Government said that the grant will be used to provide food. The Committee hopes the grant will facilitate the provision of timely relief to the victims and help them restore their normal living. The grant, together with those approved earlier, will take the accumulative value of grants for drought victims in Africa to $18.585 million, among which $13.651 million is deployed for victims in Ethiopia.
“To ensure that the money is used for the designated purposes, Plan International Hong Kong will be asked to submit an evaluation report and an audited account on the use of the grant after the relief project has been completed,” the spokesman said.
Meanwhile, it is equally reported that the Deputy Foreign Minister and Special Presidential Representative for the Middle East and Africa Mikhail Bogdanov, during a conversation with the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya Ghassan Salamé, at the UN’s initiative, have again discussed the situation in Libya, agreeing to maintain close contacts on the Libyan issue, including arrangements for Mr Salamé’s visit to Moscow in the near future.
According to the report, the Russian side welcomed the efforts of the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General, aimed at promoting an inclusive intra-Libyan dialogue, including his contacts with representatives of various Libyan political forces during a recent trip around the country.
Reporter: Ridwan A Olayiwola