Turkey to send medical, financial aid to Palestine

RAMALLAH, Palestine

Turkey has accepted Palestine’s call for medical and financial assistance in the fight against the novel coronavirus, according to an official statement Thursday.

Turkey announced an aid package for Palestine during an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki said in a statement.

COVID-19 test kits, masks, special clothing and other basic equipment will be provided to the Health Ministry of Palestine, the statement said.

Al-Maliki thanked his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu and the Turkish government for the assistance, it added.

On Wednesday, the OIC held an extraordinary meeting to discuss measures in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Founded in 1969, the OIC is a 57-member bloc of Muslim countries. It is "the collective voice of the Muslim world" and works to "safeguard and protect the interests of the Muslim world in the spirit of promoting international peace and harmony."

Since first appearing in Wuhan, China last December, the virus, officially known as COVID-19, has spread to at least 185 countries and regions, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US.

More than 2.62 million cases have been confirmed worldwide and at least 183,000 deaths with over 710,000 recoveries.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar