(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-05-27 17:32

ISLAMABAD  -- A medical team of 28 doctors and nurses left Tuesday morning for the earthquake-affected areas in the northwestern Chinese province of Gansu.

Pakistan's Minister for Information and Broadcasting Sherry Rehman, who is in charge of the health sector, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Lt. Gen. (Retd) Farooq Ahmed Khan and Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Luo Zhaohui were at the Chaklala Air Base of the Pakistan Air Force, some 30 kilometers south of Islamabad, to see off the medical mission.

Rehman told reporters that the mission would augment medical relief activities in earthquake-hit areas in China to provide relief to the affected people.

She said that Pakistan's assistance was a humble contribution and an effort to support its time-tested friend in its time of need.

She said that Pakistan had already sent relief goods and it was ready to contribute more if the Chinese government required more relief goods.        

Luo thanked the government and the people of Pakistan for showing solidarity, support for sending medical mission besides relief goods to China.  

He expressed his gratitude over Pakistan's provision of more than 22,000 tents and welcomed the decision by the Pakistani government to send the medical team to China for relief and rehabilitation.

Areas in the Gansu province were also hit by an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale on May 12 with its epicenter in Wenchuan County, Sichuan province in southwestern China.