Chinese cities donate anti-epidemic materials to Sri Lanka

COLOMBO, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Anti-epidemic materials donated by the local governments of Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu have been handed over to the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) at an official ceremony.

Ambassador of China to Sri Lanka Qi Zhenhong handed over the anti-epidemic materials to Mayor of Colombo Rosy Senanayake at the Colombo City Hall on Wednesday.

"I'm fully confident that the collaboration, exchanges and friendship between different cities in China and Sri Lanka will be greatly enhanced after the COVID-19 pandemic," Qi said.

Ambassador Qi emphasized that Shanghai and Colombo have been sister cities since 2003, while Beijing and Colombo also maintain close communication and cooperation.

"Shanghai was the first foreign city to reach out to Colombo in the early days of last year's outbreak," Mayor Senanayake said.

On behalf of the nearly a million people in the city of Colombo, Senanayake expressed thanks to the governments of Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu for their donations.

Donations included anti-epidemic materials such as ventilators, testing reagents, masks and protective clothing.