ANKARA
Turkey sent 30 battery-operated wheelchairs to Niger after a directive issued by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
A battery-operated wheelchair was presented to disabled individual Abdulkadir Tahir by Turkish Ambassador in Niamey Hasan Ulusoy after Erdogan met Tahir during a recent visit to Niger.
Prime Minister Erdogan had met Tahir at the entrance of the hall where the Turkey-Niger Business Forum took place in Niamey.
Erdogan chatted with Tahir for a while and noticed that Tahir was using a manual wheelchair.
Seeing Tahir using hands to move the wheelchair which was decorated with the flags of Turkey and Niger, Erdogan issued a directive to the Turkish Ambassador in Niamey Hasan Ulusoy to provide a battery-operated wheelchair to Tahir.
-Ceremony to take place for distribution of battery-operated wheelchairs-
Turkish International Cooperation Agency (TIKA) began working on the battery-operated wheelchairs and 30 such wheelchairs were sent to Niger after Erdogan's directive.
The wheelchairs were brought to Niger under the sponsorship of the Turkish Airlines (THY) and were handed over to Ambassador Ulusoy.
Ambassador Ulusoy presented one of the battery-operated wheelchairs to Abdulkadir Tahir.
Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA), Ulusoy said that there was great love for Turkey in Niger.
"With Prime Minister Erdogan's recent visit, the love for Turkey in Niger got bigger. The people of Niger were happy to find out that Turkish businesspeople would construct a highway between the country's north and capital of Niamey," Ulusoy indicated.
"The remaining 29 battery-operated wheelchairs would be handed over to other disabled individuals to be determined by the officials of Niger in a ceremony," Ulusoy said.
"Abdulkadir Tahir loves Turkey very much. He wanted us to convey his appreciation to Prime Minister Erdogan and the Turkish nation. Aside from the battery-operated wheelchair, we presented him a bag of food items and CDs and books on Turkey. 29 battery-operated wheelchairs would be handed over to disabled individuals in Niger in the shortest time possible," Ulusoy also said.
Reporting by Hasan Oymez
