October 5, 2009
No. 292
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, today condemned the deadly bombing of the UN World Food Programme office in Islamabad, Pakistan.
“Canada strongly condemns the cowardly attack in Islamabad today on the UN World Food Programme, the largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger on behalf of the world’s most vulnerable people,” said Minister Cannon.
“The Canadian people stand by Pakistan’s poor and displaced, who have been so affected by the recent conflict in their country,” said Minister Oda. “We would also like to express our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those who were killed, and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”
Since October 2008, Canada has allocated $33 million to the humanitarian needs of the more than two million Pakistanis displaced by the conflict in the North West Frontier Province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas. This assistance helps to meet critical needs such as food assistance, clean water and sanitation services, shelter and basic health care.
For more information, please visit the CIDA Pakistan web page.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
613-995-1851
Foreign Affairs Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
613-995-1874
Media Relations Office
Canadian International Development Agency
819-953-6534
media@acdi-cida.gc.ca
