Interior Ministry: Slovakia Sends Nearly Eight Tonnes of Aid to Venezuela

Bratislava, 18 July (TASR) - After previously dispatching a rescue team, Slovakia continues to provide assistance to earthquake-hit Venezuela by sending an in-kind humanitarian aid consignment that took off from Bratislava Airport on Friday (17 July), TASR has learnt from Interior Ministry spokesperson Matej Neumann. The Interior Ministry sent the consignment with a total weight of almost eight tonnes in cooperation with the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry and the Ecumenical and Pastoral Service Centre of the Armed Forces and the Armed Corps of the Slovak Republic. The aid is intended to meet the basic needs of people in the affected areas and comprises technical equipment such as sludge pumps, shelter supplies (tents, beds and blankets), as well as hygiene supplies. Worth more than €65,500 in total, the humanitarian aid includes 22 tents valued at €29,700 and supplied by the Ecumenical and Pastoral Service Centre, with the Interior Ministry covering the rest. "This assistance is an integral part of the EU's broader international response to the critical situation in Venezuela, implemented through the EU's Civil Protection Mechanism. In addition to the Slovak consignment, the cargo aircraft provided by the EU is also transporting humanitarian shipments from Finland and Hungary," explained the Interior Ministry, adding that the transport is co-financed by the EU. As the recipient of the aid, the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be responsible for distributing it directly to the population affected by the earthquake and to the other most vulnerable groups. jrg