Lebanon received 25 tons of medical aid from the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Sunday afternoon.
Attending the handover ceremony at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, Lebanese Minister of Public Health Firas Abiad called the aid "significant" given the difficult situation that hospitals and the health sector are currently facing.
"Today, we received special aid for Lebanon's health and medical sector. The aid came through UNICEF. The plane is carrying 25 tons of important medicines, especially for the displaced, as well as supplies that we need in hospitals. This is the third batch, and 70 tons of aid have arrived, part of which arrived on yesterday's flights, and part by land from Jordan. With the arrival of this plane, a significant amount of aid has been delivered," the Minister said.
"This aid is very important because we understand the difficult situation that hospitals and the health sector are going through. It allows the hospitals to continue providing services, especially to the displaced people whose numbers exceed 1.2 million and who have urgent health needs. It also helps us continue reaching shelters and providing services.I thank the international community, especially UNICEF, which has been a constant partner of the Ministry of Health and is crucial for continuing our services and supporting our sector," he added.
UNICEF Representative in Lebanon, Edouard Beigbeder, stated at the ceremony that the agency's total aid will amount to 67 tons, capable of serving 700,000 people who are at risk of several types of diseases.
"The hospitals and the PHC (Primary Health Care) are in dire needs of drugs to replenish all the stocks that were used these last two weeks. And UNICEF is supporting the government, and the hospitals and the PHC by bringing today 25 metric tons of different kits, trauma kits and emergency kits. And it will be, this week, a total of 67 metric tons of such health goods. This will be able to serve up to 700,000 people for a period of three months, but actually more are required for other types of diseases and to maintain the PHC being a vital part of the response," Beigbeder said.
Lebanon receives 25 tons of medical aid from UN agency
Lebanon receives 25 tons of medical aid from UN agency
Lebanon receives 25 tons of medical aid from UN agency
China will take further steps to expand high-standard opening-up and create a new landscape of win-win cooperation in 2026, which marks the start of the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Commerce Minister Wang Wentao said in a recent interview with China Media Group.
Wang said opening up and cooperation for mutual benefit are integral to Chinese modernization. This year, China will actively expand voluntary opening up.
The country will steadily open up such areas as value-added telecommunications, biotechnology and wholly foreign-owned hospitals, while accelerating comprehensive pilot and demonstration programs for expanded opening-up in the services sector, he noted.
"We will expand the scope and regions of unilateral opening-up and ensure the implementation of zero-tariff treatment on 100 percent of tariff lines for all African countries that have diplomatic relations with China. We will vigorously promote the effective implementation of policies for special customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, further enhance the level of trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, optimize the regional layout and coverage of pilot free trade zones, and support these zones in carrying out more robust institutional opening-up trials in areas such as market access, environmental standards and government procurement, so as to better leverage their role as comprehensive pilot platforms for reform and opening-up," said Wang.
Wang said China will promote the orderly planning of cross-border industrial and supply chains.
Efforts will be made to deepen economic and trade cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, enhance integration and connectivity across production and supply chains, and encourage cooperation in areas including green development, the digital economy, green minerals, new infrastructure and new energy so as to help build global production and supply chain partnerships that are equal, inclusive and constructive, he noted.
"We will give play to the platform role of overseas economic and trade cooperation zones, expand overseas marketing networks and explore international markets through outward investment, achieve mutual promotion between investment and trade, and advance the integrated development of trade and investment. We will also improve the overseas comprehensive service system and the national-level overseas comprehensive service platform," said the minister.
In addition, China will participate constructively in global economic governance, according to the minister.
In 2026, Wang said, China will pursue flexible and pragmatic approaches to negotiate trade and investment agreements with more willing countries and regions, while strengthening economic and trade cooperation under multilateral frameworks such as BRICS, G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, to further promote mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
China to expand high-standard opening-up to foster win-win cooperation: minister
