GAZIANTEP
Ireland's Foreign Minister Eamon Gilmore on Monday visited a refugee camp in southern Turkey that shelters Syrians who fled the civil war in their country.
"The Turkish government shows an example of solidarity and generosity by making great sacrifices to help these people. In addition to a previous Irish contribution, we have allocated an extra eight million euros to continue to help Syrians. When I return home, I will tell the prime minister and officials of the Foreign Ministry about the things I have seen here," Gilmore told journalists.
Suphi Atan, a senior Turkish diplomat for Syrian camps in Turkey, and Turkey's Ambassador to Ireland Necip Eguz accompanied Gilmore on his visit in the camp in the Nizip town which shelters some 11 thousand Syrians.
Irish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Eamon Gilmore on Monday said that they were "here to provide 1 million euro to the Syrian refugees staying in Turkey".
Gilmore's comments came as he and his delegation visited the camps of Syrians after meeting with the Governor of the southeastern province of Gaziantep, Erdal Ata.
"The camps for the Syrians were designed well. Turkey is under a great burden as the number of Syrian refugees constantly rises. We are here to provide 1 million euro to the Syrian refugees. We are aware that this figure is not so big," Gilmore stressed.
Governor Ata, in his part, said that there were 30,777 Syrian refugees living in the camps and around 50,000 at the city center.
Ata said that "to date, Saudi Arabia provided 50 million USD while the United Nations provided 30 million USD to Turkey for the Syrian refugees".
