UN official praises Turkey's support for refugees

ANKARA

A UN humanitarian affairs official on Tuesday praised Turkey for its “outstanding” leadership and providing humanitarian assistance to people in need across the world.

Ursula Mueller, assistant secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and deputy emergency relief coordinator, met with Turkish Red Crescent President Kerem Kinik in Ankara ahead of attending the Global South-South Expo in the Mediterranean province of Antalya.

“The United Nations is very eager to partner with you and learn from your approaches,” Mueller told a joint press conference with Kinik in Ankara. “We are here to also discuss how we can best serve people in need.”

Stating that Turkey is the world’s “second-largest global humanitarian donor,” she added: “The Turkish government and Turkish people [are] hosting refugees from Syria inside Turkey and you are shouldering the impact of the crisis in Syria.”

“The Turkish Red Crescent also does fantastic work in Somalia, Sudan, Pakistan, Yemen, and Bangladesh.”

Mueller praised a special debit cards for refugees, known as the Kizilay Card, calling it “a role model” in the world in light of the large numbers of people in need that the organization reaches.

“It also gives more dignity and more freedom to people to decide what they want to buy,” she added.

The debit cards enable refugees to shop via Turkish Halkbank point of sale machines and withdraw money from ATMs. Each refugee registered by the regional migration office directorate is given 100 Turkish liras ($28.5) a month.

For his part, Kinik also thanked UN for its financial support to Kizilay’s aid projects, saying: “We stress our resolution to continue our cooperation with the UN.”

Turkey hosts more Syrian refugees than any other country in the world. The country has spent more than €20 billion from its own national resources to help and shelter refugees since the beginning of the Syrian civil war.

Reporting by Zehra Aydin, Zuhal Demirci:Writing by Nilay Kar