France provided pound 1m to INGOs for flood assistance: envoy.

ISLAMABAD -- The French government has provided emergency equipment, water pumps, tents and 1 million euros to partner international non-government organisations (INGOs) to assist Pakistan's relief efforts after the devastating floods which killed over 1,300 people and displaced millions.

'Following the unprecedented floods that hit Pakistan...France quickly dispatched emergency equipment and military experts from the French civil security service to the field to assist in relief operations and respond to urgent humanitarian needs,' said Ambassador of France to Pakistan Nicolas Galey.

The ambassador was speaking at a press briefing he had called to give an overview of the French assistance to flood-affected populations in Pakistan.

Breaking down the assistance provided by Paris, Mr Galey said that on September 3, a special chartered flight arrived in Karachi, carrying emergency equipment, including 83 high-capacity water pumps and more than 200 tents, as well as other non-food items, and a military medical team consisting of four doctors and four nurses, as well as a military team of four technicians to operate the water pumps.

The French medical team remained on the ground for two weeks in Badin, working alongside their Pakistani colleagues from the Badin military hospital, to provide hundreds of medical consultations each day. As for the team of trainers, it was able to train more than 50 Pakistani technicians in the use of water pumps, Nicolas Galey informed the media.

'From October 7 to November 5, 40 French civil security experts were deployed in Dadu district in Sindh to operate water purification equipment brought directly from France. The military team provided 600,000 liters of drinking water to the local communities (1,000 beneficiaries per day),' he said.

The briefing was informed that as an indication of support towards the reconstruction of flood-affected areas, France provided a 50-meter-long Bailey-type bridge that would soon be deployed by the Pakistani authorities in Sindh.

These operations were being carried out within the framework of the...