China vies for a foothold in Afghanistan through aid to Northern Province
Jan 23, 2022
Kabul [Afghanistan], January 23 : China vies for a foothold in Afghanistan through humanitarian aid to Northern Province as the war-ravaged country continues to face restrictions in getting assistance from other international donor agencies.
Taliban officials on Saturday said that they have started receiving the delivery of humanitarian assistance from China, according to Khaama Press.
Further, the Taliban's Ministry of Refugees and Repatriates said that the relief assistance comprises 440 tonnes of rice that will be distributed to impoverished people in ten Northern Provinces.
The recently arrived shipment is part of the humanitarian aid that has been pledged by China to the Afghan people.
The spokesperson of the Ministry Abdul Mutalib Haqqani said that priority has been given to provinces that are most affected by recent snowfall and where there is a risk of closure of roads.
Officials of the Ministry have also said that other shipments of humanitarian assistance will also reach Afghanistan in the coming days.
Earlier, China had sent winter clothes, foodstuff, medicines, and COVID-19 vaccines to Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover, according to Khaama Press.
By providing aid to Afghanistan, China would like to include Taliban-led Afghanistan in joining the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) infrastructure project.
China has proposed the construction of the Peshawar-Kabul motorway as an extension of CPEC in Afghanistan.
