Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu announced a donation of US$20 million to Türkiye and Syria Feb. 18 to assist the two countries with post-earthquake reconstruction, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Wu made the announcement during a press conference in Taipei City. The event was attended by Türkiye Rep. to Taiwan Muhammed Berdibek, Turkish expatriates in Taiwan and members of Taiwan’s search and rescue team that helped extricate survivors in the country, the MOFA said.
Mayor of Altinozu Rifat Sari and representatives of four nongovernmental organizations’ Turkish chapters also took part via video conference, while Turkish Parliament members Muhammed Fatih Toprak and Feyzi Berdibek delivered pre-recorded messages, the ministry added.
According to the MOFA, the people of Taiwan are grateful to Türkiye for sending a rescue team after the Jiji earthquake struck central Taiwan Sept. 21, 1999.
A government-organized search and rescue team was immediately dispatched to Türkiye Feb. 6 after the magnitude 7.4 earthquake hit the southern province of Kahramanmaras and neighboring Syria earlier the same day.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare also set up a dedicated account for private donations, which stood at around NT$910 million (US$30 million) as of Feb. 17, the MOFA said.
From the donations, US$6 million will go to the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) of the Turkish Ministry of the Interior, US$4 million to Care Türkiye, US$4 million to the Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (SGDD-ASAM) in Türkiye and US$1 million to the AKUT Search and Rescue Association, while US$5 million will go to Syria through U.S.-based humanitarian aid organization Mercy Corps.
In response, Berdibek thanked the government and people of Taiwan for their compassion, adding that nothing is impossible with the help of friends like Taiwan. Tolga Erdogan, a Turkish expatriate in Taiwan, also expressed his gratitude, saying that Taiwan is a true brother of his country. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw