The Islamic Republic of Pakistan gave Cuba on Friday a donation of 15,000 tons of rice, a gesture that reflects solidarity with the Cuban nation, the easternmost area of which is recovering after the passage of Hurricane Matthew.

During the delivery ceremony in this capital, Antonio Carricarte, First Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment (Mincex), thanked the

Pakistani government for its help, which arrives in a timely moment to contribute to the speedy recovery of the municipalities hit by the hurricane in the province of Guantanamo, a priority task of the Cuban government.

He pointed out that the donation opens the possibility to increase relations between the two nations in the economic and cooperation sectors.

Pakistan’s ambassador to the island, Kamran Shafi, expressed that there are possibilities of strengthening commercial bonds, affected by the extraterritorial effects of the commercial, economic and financial blockade of the United States against Cuba.

The CMB ADRIEN ship docked on October 9 at the Hai Pong pier and began unloading the donation at the warehouses belonging to Havana’s Enterprise for Port Services of the West.