Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, United Arab Emirates' Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation came to Türkiye on Sunday and visited areas in Kahramanmaraş province hit by devastating earthquakes last Monday.
The minister visited local Türkiye's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) coordination center where Turkish officials briefed him about developments related to relief work in a bid to mitigate the catastrophe-induced crisis.
The UAE Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the minister affirmed that the UAE, under the directives of President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, is keen on standing by Turkish people and providing the required support and assistance for those affected to help them through this ordeal.
He also visited the headquarters of a search and rescue team sent by UAE to Türkiye and praised their efforts. In Kahramanmaraş, he also met Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and reiterated his country's support to Türkiye in the aftermath of the disaster.
UAE started delivery of tents capable of housing 33,000 people to Türkiye after the earthquake. So far, 515 big tents capable of housing 16 people each, were delivered to Türkiye from UAE. The country also allocated large military and civilian cargo planes for the potential delivery of international relief to Türkiye by other countries. The UAE owns the world's second-biggest cargo plane capable of shipping 150 tons of cargo.
The UAE President was among the first world leaders to extend condolences to Türkiye on a phone call with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 6 and instructed his country's army, ministries, a foundation and a charity to deliver humanitarian aid to the country.
On Feb. 7, he announced the UAE would deliver a cash aid of $50 million to Türkiye. The UAE Red Crescent also launched a two-week aid campaign to collect donations for Türkiye and Syria, while the flagship carrier Emirates launched an air bridge between Dubai and Istanbul for relief delivery operations.
