Poor Bangladesh pledges $1 million aid for US

Bangladesh pledges $1 million aid for US

Dhaka, September 5, 2005|21:59 IST

Bangladesh, one of the world´s poorest countries, has pledged to donate $1 million (euro797,830) for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday.

Prime Minister Khaleda Zia declared that the assistance to the United States from Bangladesh was a "token of goodwill and sympathy for the victims," according to spokesman Zahirul Haque. Bangladesh has also offered the services of trained rescuers and disaster experts, Haque said.

"We have trained people, they are on standby to help," Haque said.

The donation in cash is likely to be disbursed through the Bangladesh Embassy in Washington. Bangladesh, an impoverished delta nation of 140 million people, is regularly buffeted by cyclones and floods.