Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday that China will provide an additional 353.2 million yuan (55.28 million U.S. dollars) in food aid to Ethiopia and other drought-hit African countries.

Wen made the remarks while holding talks with visiting Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi in Beijing Monday afternoon.

Starting from last year, the Horn of Africa, which refers to the region consisting of the countries of Somalia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Ethiopia, has been devastated by severe drought.

China already announced plans to provide 90 million yuan (14 million U.S. dollars) worth of emergency food assistance to countries in the Horn of Africa in late July.