PM thanks Turkish president for aid

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday and expressed his gratitude to him and the people of his country for extending assistance to Pakistan.

The relief assistance from Turkey was in the form of 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 it was in the truest tradition of Pakistan-Turkey exemplary relationship. He also expressed his gratitude for the visit undertaken on September 1, as a gesture of solidarity and support by Suleyman Soylu, Minister of Interior, Murat Kurum, Minister for Environment and Urbanisation, the head of AFAD and representatives of TOKI to observe the devastation caused by the floods for themselves.

He informed President Erdogan about the havoc caused by the floods. “As per initial estimates, the floods are likely to reduce Pakistan’s GDP by over 2 percentage points. They have devastated millions of acres of standing crops, houses and critical infrastructure in the country,” he added.

The prime minister said that Pakistan was grappling with the immediate challenge of averting an imminent food insecurity in the country as well as rescue and rehabilitation of victims of climate-induced calamity. The prime minister briefed President Erdogan about the ongoing relief activities by the government and expressed his intention to seek Turkey’s assistance in undertaking reconstruction and rehabilitation of flooded areas.