The Chinese government Wednesday donated 100,000 U.S. dollars to Ecuador and Peru to aid mine-sweeping efforts along the two countries' border.
Land mines on the Ecuador-Peru border have blocked the social and economic development there, said Cai Runguo, Chinese ambassador to Ecuador, at the donation ceremony, noting the Chinese government has attached great importance to the issue.
China supports the international efforts to boost mine-sweeping in that region and has decided to offer aid to the best of its ability even though China itself is having a hard time as a series of natural disasters, including a devastating earthquake measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale, has hit the Asian country this year.
Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Maria Isabel Salvador expressed her sincere thanks to the Chinese government, saying the donation displays China's appreciation of the years of efforts made by Ecuador and Peru to solve the mine trouble in the border region.
She hoped that all the international community can join hands to eradicate mines and create a safe and peaceful place for the residents there.
A territorial dispute between Ecuador and Peru had been lasted for nearly four decades ever since they gained independence from the Spanish colonial rule in the early 19th century. A mass military conflict between them erupted in 1995, and the two countries had buried about 130,000 land mines in the border region, according to the Organization of American States.
The two countries signed a peace deal brokered by Brazil, Argentina, Chile and the United States in October 1998, ending decades of territorial dispute.
(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2008)
