Holding a press conference after the Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, President Erdoğan said: “I wholeheartedly thank the friendly and brotherly states of our organization who stood by us during our difficult days. The Turkic world has shown again today that it stands united in joy and sorrow. I believe that this solidarity will continue in the healing of the earthquake wounds, as was the case in the search and rescue efforts.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a press conference after the Extraordinary Summit of the Organization of Turkic States (OTS) in Ankara.
Stating that they successfully completed the Extraordinary Ankara Summit of the Organization of Turkic States, President Erdoğan said that they came together with the members and observers of the organization in solidarity after the earthquake and flood disasters in Türkiye.
“WE WILL NEVER FORGET OUR UNITY AND SOLIDARITY”
Thanking the presidents who attended the summit, President Erdoğan said: “We will never forget the unity and solidarity we displayed as the Turkic world in the wake of the disaster we experienced. Within the scope of the Summit, we also hosted the secretaries general and presidents of the Turkic World cooperation organizations and the esteemed members of our Council of Elders in Ankara. I am very pleased that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which joined our organization as an observer at the Samarkand Summit last year, is among us today for the first time.”
“The Extraordinary Summit, which we are hosting today, was held with the theme of ‘Disaster-Emergency Management and Humanitarian Assistance’. As you know, on February 6, we were shaken by two earthquakes of 7.7 and 7.6 magnitudes, which was quite unprecedented. These earthquakes caused very serious loss of life and destruction in 11 provinces of our country where 14 million citizens of our country live. We lost more than 49 thousand people, including citizens of our organization’s member countries, in the earthquake disaster. Afterwards, our cities in the earthquake zone suffered from floods. Once again, I wish Allah's mercy to our brothers and sisters who lost their lives in the earthquake and floods, and offer my condolences to their relatives,” President Erdoğan said.
“Experts describe the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş as one of the biggest natural disasters in human history. Thousands of aftershocks following the first earthquakes, reaching the magnitude of nearly 600 individual earthquakes, confirm this fact,” President Erdoğan noted.
Stating that more than 35 thousand personnel as search and rescue teams and 272 thousand public officials together with aid and support teams rushed to help the earthquake victims, President Erdoğan said that when NGOs and volunteers are included, this figure reaches approximately half a million.
“OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS STRIVED TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR NATION”
Noting that search and rescue teams from 90 different countries of the world also supported Türkiye in this process, President Erdoğan said: “The members of the Organization of Turkic States are among our friends who gave the quickest response to our call for help after the disaster on February 6, took the quickest action, and shared our pain in the sincerest way. Members of our organization immediately dispatched their teams to Türkiye to operate in a wide range of areas from search and rescue to health and humanitarian aid. Our brothers and sisters strived to meet the needs of our nation with both in-kind and financial aid. They supported the healing of our wounds with the field hospitals they established in the region. They contributed to meeting our needs for shelter with the tents they delivered.”
“I wholeheartedly thank the friendly and brotherly states of our organization who stood by us during our difficult days. The Turkic world has shown again today that it stands united in joy and sorrow. I believe that this solidarity will continue in the healing of the earthquake wounds, as was the case in the search and rescue efforts,” President Erdoğan said.
https://www.tccb.gov.tr/en/news/542/144280/-the-turkic-world-stands-united-in-joy-and-sorrow-