Tugba Altun
24 February 2023•Update: 25 February 2023
ANKARA
Algeria is “standing firm alongside with Türkiye” in the aftermath of Feb. 6 earthquakes that hit the country's southern region, the Algerian ambassador to Ankara said on Friday.
Speaking to Anadolu, Sofiane Mimouni said the two countries share a history, great relationship, and bond.
Mimouni said Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was among the first to express condolences to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following the 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes.
“He (Tebboune) reiterated his sincere condolences following this devastating earthquake, and also reiterated, of course, his sincere condolences and expressed solidarity with Türkiye and affirm that Algeria will stand by Türkiye during this difficult time,” said Mimouni.
He said that under instructions from Tebboune, a team of search and rescue personnel was dispatched to Türkiye and they arrived at Gaziantep airport at noon on Feb. 6.
“And they were immediately dispatched to Adiyaman, where they did a remarkable job. They have succeeded to save 13 people -- babies, women, men,” said Mimouni, adding that the Algerian team also pulled out 94 bodies from under the rubble.
“At the same time, we have sent also humanitarian aid to Türkiye. Three airplanes landed in Adana and I was there to receive the humanitarian aid of around 100 tons (of) blankets, tent, food, medicines, these have been given to (Turkish disaster agency) AFAD,” he said.
Mimouni also said he visited the earthquake-hit regions and met with Algerian teams, as well as Turkish officials on the ground. He said the situation was “very sad to see.”
“Algeria decided to grant a donation of $30 million to contribute to the effort of Türkiye in overcoming the challenges they are facing,” on the instructions of Tebboune, he noted.
The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, which were centered in Kahramanmaras, struck 10 other Turkish provinces — Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Adana, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. Some 13.5 million people have been affected by the devastating tremors.
Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the earthquakes that struck in the space of fewer than 10 hours.
Condolences have poured in from around the world, expressing solidarity with Türkiye, with many countries sending rescue teams and aid.
Türkiye-Algeria relations
The ambassador said the two countries have excellent relations at the political and economic levels.
The two countries “share ties of solidarity, friendship, and they have a close cooperative relation in all the international organization, they are also bound by ties of faith and share the same position on many regional or international issues,” said Mimouni.
“In the economic field, we have succeeded in the last years in giving a boost to the economic and trade relation, there is a positive dynamic between the two countries,” said Mimouni, adding that the bilateral trade volume reached $5 billion.
