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Text: Uzbekistan to Arrange Humanitarian Aid by River Barge

(Notice to the media of inspection team arriving in Termez) (340)
Following is a State Department notice to the media, alerting them to
the arrival of an official delegation from Uzbekistan in Termez. The
delegation will arrange for delivery of humanitarian aid by river
barge to Afghanistan.
(begin text)
MEDIA NOTE
Office of the Spokesman
Bureau of Public Affairs
Department of State
Washington, DC 
November 10, 2001
Overland Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan
We have been informed by the Government of Uzbekistan that a
high-level delegation will be arriving in Termez Sunday morning,
November 11, to inspect and arrange logistics to begin the supply of
humanitarian aid by river barge to Afghanistan. The delegation will be
led by the Uzbek Minister of Emergency Situations and will include
Uzbek foreign ministry and border guard officials. The local UN
representative and representatives of non-governmental organizations
involved in humanitarian assistance will also be on hand.
Beginning the supply of humanitarian assistance through river barge
and land bridge from Uzbekistan to Afghanistan has been one of the key
goals of the United States Government and its Coalition partners. The
United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development,
has supplied more than 80 percent of all food aid for vulnerable
Afghans through the UN World Food Program, and will continue to be a
leading food donor to the Afghan people.
But humanitarian assistance must reach the people of Afghanistan and
not Taliban forces. The fact that this process can now get underway is
a direct result of the changing security situation on the
Uzbekistan-Afghanistan border. U.S. and Coalition forces have provided
consistent and timely support to opposition forces, including those
that have been fighting in the Mazar-e-Sharif area. We welcome the
significant inroads made by these forces which we believe will
significantly increase the safe flow of humanitarian assistance to the
Afghan people.
(end text)
(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S.
Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)