BANGKOK, 19 October 2011 – The Thai government has contributed three million THB to Cambodia and Vietnam each, to support flood relief efforts in the neighbouring countries.
Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul recently handed the cash donations together with letters of condolence from Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to Cambodian ambassador You Aye and Vietnamese ambassador Ngo Duc Thang.
In the letters, the Prime Minister stated that the disaster was a challenge that had never happened before and had caused immense damages. On behalf of the Thai government and people, Ms Yingluck vowed to stand side by side with the two countries in the face of the catastrophe and expressed hope that Asean and other friendly nations would render their hands in solving the situation.
The deluge in Cambodia has killed 247 people and affected 1.2 million others while 2.4 million rai of farmland has been damaged. In Vietnam, 43 people were killed and over 70,000 houses damaged while over 300 square kilometers of rice fields have been under floods. The deluge is regarded as the severest in several decades in Southeast Asia.
