PM thanks Turkish President Erdogan for flood relief assistance

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday and expressed his gratitude for extending humanitarian relief assistance to Pakistan.

The relief assistance from Turkiye included immediate dispatch of tents, emergency food items, and medicines via 12 Turkish military aircraft, four ‘Goodness trains’ and two Turkish Red Crescent Trucks. The prime minister exclaimed that this is in the truest tradition of exemplary Pakistan-Turkish relationship.

PM Shehbaz Sharif also expressed his gratitude for the visit undertaken on September 1, 2022, as a gesture of solidarity and support by Suleyman Soylu, Minister of Interior, Murat Kurum, Minister for Environment and Urbanisation, Head of AFAD, and representatives of Turkish housing agency TOKI to see the devastation themselves.

While sensitising President Erdogan of the havoc caused by the riverine floods, the prime miinister stated that as per initial estimates, floods were likely to reduce Pakistan’s GDP by over 2 percent

He underlined that the ongoing floods have devastated millions of acres of standing crops, houses and critical infrastructure in the country.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif conveyed that Pakistan was grappling with the immediate challenge of averting imminent food insecurity in the country as well as providing for rescue and rehabilitation of the victims of this climate-induced calamity.

He briefed President Erdogan about the ongoing relief activities by the government and expressed his intention to seek Türkiye’s assistance in overcoming food shortages and in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the flood-affected areas. In the bilateral context, the prime minister reaffirmed commitment to boost relations in all areas.

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