ISTANBUL

Turkey on Wednesday sent a truckload of medical supplies to Serbia to assist its fight against the novel coronavirus.

The truck which set off from Istanbul is expected to reach a hospital in Novi Pazar, one of the largest cities of Serbia, on Monday.

The supplies were sent by Turkey's Health Ministry and Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) upon directives by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

They include protective masks, beds, sanitizers, ventilators, and various medicinal products.

Bayram Akgul, head of DEIK, told Anadolu Agency that Turkey and Serbia maintain bilateral relations based on mutual respect for each other.

Stressing the two countries have developed economic relations, Akgul said: “We have a foreign trade volume of over $1.3 billion. With new targets, we have a trade target of $2 billion in the short term and $5 billion in the medium term. In order to boost economic relations, political relations must also be good."

Writing by Erdogan Cagatay Zontur in Ankara