The Libyan Government has made good on its promise to provide humanitarian supplies to refugees fleeing the political crisis in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire.

A huge consignment of relief supplies arrived Friday at the Roberts International Airport aboard a Libyan cargo jet. The consignment includes 300 tents, 3 tons of rice, 5 tons of flour, 1 ton of milk and assorted medical supplies.

According to an Executive Mansion release, the Libyan acting Chargé d’Affaires to Liberia, Aaeddin El-Shike, said the supplies were sent in fulfillment of President Moammer Kaddafi’s promise to help provide relief for refugees near the Liberian border with Côte d’Ivoire.

The Libyan Embassy official said his Government was saddened by the situation near the Ivorian border and was pleased to identify with Liberia’s relief effort.

Receiving the donation, the head of the Liberia  Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC), Cllr. Wheatonia Dixon Barnes, thanked the Libyan Government for the supplies, which she said would help address some ofthe basic needs of the refugees.

Cllr. Barnes said her agency is working with organizations such as the World Food Programme, the World Health Organization, and the Norwegian Refugee Council to oversee the effective distribution of the relief items.

Friday’s supplies also included five additional tractors for farmland cultivation to help improve agricultural yields in the country. More than 10 tractors were sent to the country last year as part of a program by the Libyan leader to support Liberia’s agricultural sector.

The supplies follow discussions last week between Libyan leader Kaddafi and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Tripoli, during which he recommitted his government to speeding up the implementation of Libyan-funded development projects.

These include the Foya Rice Development Project, the reconstruction of the Ducor Palace Hotel, and a rubber processing plant in Bong County.