RAMALLAH, September 26, 2017 (WAFA) – The Prime Minister of the Dominican Republic Roosevelt Skerrit thanked Palestine for sending a team to help in relief efforts in his country hard hit by the devastating hurricane Irma, Foreign and Expatriates Minister Riyad Malki said on Monday.
He said in a statement that the Palestinian team arrived in the Dominican Republic four days ago and started immediately to provide assistance to the people of the Caribbean island.
The team of doctors and civil defense arrived in Venezuela last week in preparation to fly to the Dominican Republic believed to be the hardest hit by the hurricane.
Venezuela provided a military cargo plane to transport the equipment, medical supplies and food parcels purchased in that Latin American country to Dominica while a military helicopter was provided to transport the crews.
Malki said the Palestinian team started work immediately after arrival in Dominica in spite of the hardship and difficulties of the situation on the ground due to absence of electricity, communications, water and food.
The team helped in reopening roads to Marigo airport and distributed food parcels as well as provided medical assistance to dozens of cases in a number of communities.
The team was put together by the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency (PICA), an arm of the Foreign and Expatriates Ministry, whose director Imad Zuheiri along with Palestine’s ambassador to Venezuela Linda Soboh attended daily meetings for international teams to discuss and plan relief efforts.
Malki said Palestine was the only Arab country in the international group that includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom., France, and Holland among others that meet every day to plan the relief efforts.
He said the work of the Palestinian team had won the praise of Dominican officials, particularly Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit who thanked Palestine, its leaders and people in a press conference he held after his return from New York for sending a team to help in the relief efforts in these difficult times for his country.
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