Lanka steps in to aid flood-hit Nepal

Sri Lanka is set to deploy disaster relief teams to flood-hit Nepal in the coming days, Deputy Minister of Defence, retired Major General Aruna Jayasekara, said.

He said the Government had decided to send teams comprising members of the Sri Lankan security forces to assist relief operations in areas affected by the floods.

Speaking to the media in Anuradhapura, Jayasekara said arrangements were also underway to provide US$1 million in financial assistance to Nepal on behalf of the Sri Lankan Government.

The Defence Ministry, in coordination with the National Disaster Management Relief Centre, is currently assessing Nepal’s requirements and determining the composition and deployment of the relief teams, he said.

The number of personnel to be deployed and the specific types of relief teams had not yet been finalised, he added.

Jayasekara said the arrangements were expected to be completed within the next few days, noting that Sri Lanka, as a fellow South Asian country, was responding to Nepal’s situation with sensitivity and solidarity.