A UAE plane carrying 30 tonnes of relief aid for communities affected by the flooding in Sudan has touched down in Khartoum.
President Sheikh Khalifa ordered the airlift after torrential rains wreaked havoc in several areas of Sudan, destroying power grids and houses and damaging public utilities and infrastructure.
A delegation from the Khalifa Foundation will visit the affected areas and distribute the aid, which includes 3,000 blankets, 700 tents, insecticides and hygiene products.
The Foundation had been working with the UAE Embassy in Khartoum to assess the damage since the first day of the floods, said Abdul Raheem Jani, who is heading the Khalifa Foundation delegation.
Haasn Hamed, director of peace and humanitarian affairs at the Sudanese Foreign Ministry said the UAE’s gesture reflects the deeply-rooted ties between the two countries.
"The UAE has always been in the forefront when it comes to humanitarian works," he said.
Distribution of the aid has already begun in the Northern Nile and Al Haj Yousif districts of Khartoum.
Dozens of people died and thousands lost their homes as a result of the heavy rains and flash flooding.
The UAE was the world's largest donor of official development aid last year, relative to its national income, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development .
The UAE spent Dh19.32 billion, which is 1.31 per cent of its gross national income on foreign developmental aid - almost twice the global target of 0.7 per cent set by the United Nations.
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