Germany Hands Over About 20 Tonnes of Earthquake Relief to Panama: Foreign Minister Calls for Freedom of Navigation
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul met Panama's Foreign Minister Javier Martínez-Acha in Panama City on October 30, calling for strong international efforts to safeguard freedom of navigation and handing over about 20 tonnes of German relief goods for the victims of the severe earthquake that struck Panama on October 9, the German federal government portal deutschland.de reported on October 30. The goods were handed over immediately after Wadephul landed at the airport in the capital.
'These waterways, whether artificial ones such as the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal, or natural ones such as the Strait of Hormuz, are lifelines of the global economy. And lifelines must not be blocked,' Wadephul said during the meeting. He added that the impact of the war in Iran on the global economy and the security of shipping routes was also expected to be among the topics at the meeting of foreign ministers of the G20 group in the United States on Friday and Saturday.
On the relief shipment, Wadephul handed the goods to his counterpart Javier Martínez-Acha Vásquez on arrival. The shipment was organised in cooperation with the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) and brought to Panama on the Federal Government's Airbus.
The supplies include water filters, blankets, tarpaulins, camp beds and kitchen sets. The material is handed over to the Panamanian authorities and distributed where it is needed most urgently, in support of the response to the October 9 earthquake. (Source: GSM·USA)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 巴拿马运河上的货轮与美洲大桥，德国外长在巴拿马城谈及运河等水道的航行自由。图源：Wikimedia Commons，Biberbaer，公共领域 | A cargo ship on the Panama Canal with the Bridge of the Americas in Panama. Photo: Wikimedia Commons / Biberbaer, public domain
