The Saudi humanitarian airlift to Myanmar concluded today as the fifth and final plane arrived in Yangon Airport carrying more than 70 tons of relief materials.

 

Sabria S. Jawhar
IT’s not often that I devote an entire column to a single reader’s specific concern. But Paul Lin’s plea to do something for the victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy Delta touched my heart and moved me.
Lin is the general manager for a construction company in Riyadh who keeps up his Islamic studies in his spare time. A Canadian, he doesn’t speak Arabic, so his efforts to encourage Saudis to send more aid to Myanmar have been less than successful.

 

The Union of Myanmar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, desirous of establishing friendly relations and mutually beneficial cooperation on the basis of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and norms of International laws in accordance with the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic Relations and on Consular Relations, have decided to establish diplomatic relations between the two countries at Ambassadorial level with effect from 25 August 2004.
The agreement to establish diplomatic relations between the Union of Myanmar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was signed by the Ambassadors of the two countries in New York on 25 August 2004.

Source: http://www.mofa.gov.mm/news/sep8_04_wed11.html 

 

Distinguished Members of Parliament,

Twenty days ago, on 2nd May 2008, Cyclone Nargis ravaged the land of Burma. An estimated 78,000 people are dead, while 56,000 remain missing. Around 2.5 million survivors are at threat of disease, exposure and starvation.