Dozens of Chinese companies on Sunday sent hundreds of food boxes to the needy people and held a charity iftar table in Cairo's Maadi district, sharing the joy of Egyptians during the holy month of Ramadan.

About 250 boxes of food were distributed and over 400 people came to the iftar, the breaking of Muslims' fasting during Ramadan.

More than 2,000 boxes of supplies and 5,000 meals are expected to be distributed through Chinese firms in the next 15 days across Egypt including the provinces of Cairo, Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef and Aswan.

The event was co-organized by the Chinese Embassy in Egypt and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce, an umbrella group of Chinese firms operating in Egypt, in cooperation with the Egyptian Society for Integrated Development.

Hanaa Ismail, head of the Egyptian Society for Integrated Development, told Xinhua that it is the fourth consecutive year for her organization to work with the Chinese side in arranging the event, adding that Chinese companies donated around 600,000 Egyptian pounds (33,580 U.S. dollars) this year.

"The banquet is held with the highest level of quality to make the people happy. We thank our Chinese friends and we hope for the continuous cooperation between Egypt and China," said Ismail.

Xinhua