BELGRADE, Serbia 

Representatives of Serbia's Muslim Bosniak minority on Tuesday sent a letter of gratitude to Turkey's president for recent medical aid sent by Ankara.

In late June, Jasmina Curic, President of the Bosniak National Council (BNV), sent a letter to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urgently requesting medical staff to help against the novel coronavirus outbreak.

In response, a Turkish cargo plane arrived in Serbia on Saturday with 16 tons of medical supplies including ventilators and personal protection equipment (PPE) needed to fight COVID-19 upon Erdogan's directive.

Curic said in the letter to Erdogan that the region's population faced serious problems due to the pandemic with limited facilities in the area.

"The medical supplies, medicine and equipment aid you sent are very important for the local people. Your help gives us confidence," said Curic, thanking Turkey and President Erdogan.

Serbia has confirmed 16,719 cases of the coronavirus so far, as well as 330 deaths due to the disease, according to data compiled by the US' Johns Hopkins University.

Since first appearing in China last December, the novel coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil and Russia are currently the countries hardest hit in the world.

The pandemic has killed nearly 540,000 people worldwide, with infections surpassing 11.6 million and recoveries over 6.3 million.