Egyptian FM seeks urgent relief assistance for Ethiopia

CAIRO, June 4, 2005 (Xinhua) — Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit has requested food relief assistance to Ethiopia within the coming few days, the official MENA news agency reported Saturday.

The ministry’s Fund for Technical Cooperation with Africa would supply Ethiopia with flour, rice and cooking oil, said a source at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

The step comes in response to a joint appeal by the Ethiopian government and UN relief agencies to extend emergency relief assistance to the Ethiopian people to ease suffering caused by drought and famine in the country.

Ethiopia, with more than 80 percent of a population of 72 million living in rural areas, depends heavily on the agriculture sector, and a season of poor rains or drought often damages its economy.

A drought-induced famine killed nearly 1 million people in Ethiopia in 1984.