The government and people of Taiwan extended heartfelt condolences to Turkiye following the magnitude 7.4 earthquake that hit the southern province of Kahramanmaras, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Feb. 6.

In the aftermath of the disaster, Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu immediately instructed Anthony Chung-Yi Ho, director-general of the ministry’s Department of West Asian and African Affairs, to call Muhammed Berdibek, head of the Turkish Trade Office in Taipei, to convey Taiwan’s sincere sympathies and offer assistance.

As a responsible member of the international community and force for good in the world, Taiwan is donating US$200,000 in humanitarian aid to support recovery efforts, the MOFA said. A search and rescue team comprising 40 personnel, three rescue dogs and 6.6 metric tons of equipment and devices was promptly dispatched on the evening of Feb 6 to assist in disaster relief operations, the ministry added.

In a tweet on its official Twitter account, the MOFA said “Minister Wu saw off a 40-strong #Taiwan search & rescue team heading to #Türkiye. We remain ever grateful for the country’s immediate help after the devastating 921 earthquake in 1999, & now it’s our turn to hit the ground running.”

Source: Taiwan.gov.tw