Bulgaria's government has approved the allocation of humanitarian aid to Pakistan, much of which has been devastated by the floods that hit the country in July 2010.

The humanitarian aid of the Bulgarian government amounts to the modest BGN 117 350 but is in line with the trend of providing aid as much as the government could afford since 2008, a novelty in Bulgaria whose people traditionally think of themselves as being in need of foreign aid.

The Bulgarian government said in a statement its aid is supposed to help Pakistan with overcoming the consequences of the July 2010 flood which killed 1 600 people, left some 15-20 million people homeless, destroyed their crops and damaged their access to drinking water.

"Providing humanitarian aid is a gesture of friendship and solidarity with the suffering people of Pakistan. It is in accordance with Bulgaria's policies of commitment to international cooperation on development aid, which is an invariable part of providing humanitarian assistance," the Cabinet press service said.

The first time in recent history Bulgaria provided substantial foreign aid was in 2008 when the Cabinet granted funds for China and Myanmar that suffered an earthquake and a cyclone respectively. In 2010, Bulgaria became involved in the Haiti earthquake relief efforts.

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