Turkey third in world in humanitarian assistance: FM

ANKARA

Turkey comes in third, behind the U.S. and Britain, in humanitarian assistance, the country's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Thursday.

"However, when compared to the national income, our country is in first place," he said.

In an address at the ministry's "Training Program for International Junior Diplomats”, Cavusoglu pointed out that Turkey will host the first-ever World Humanitarian Summit which will convene in Istanbul on May 23-24.

The summit is a call to action by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to "reduce human loss and suffering from crises”.

Turkish authorities have repeatedly said the country was fully committed to making the upcoming summit a milestone event.

Cavusoglu also mentioned his meeting with NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg in the capital Ankara Thursday.

He said they discussed actions to be taken against terror organizations including Daesh, the PKK, and its Syrian counterpart PYD.

The Turkish minister said he stressed the need for more efficient intelligence-sharing between allies.

Cavusoglu mentioned the recent fighting between Azerbaijani troops and ethnic Armenian forces at the borders of occupied Karabakh, Cavusoglu said: "Armenian intervention into Azerbaijani land is unacceptable."

Karabakh was seized by ethnic Armenian separatists in the early 1990s before a peace deal in 1994. The enclave is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory.

Cavusoglu also reiterated that Turkey will be chairing the Organization of Islamic Cooperation for the next two years.

The 22nd International Junior Diplomats Training Program is held in Turkey between April 9-30, 2016 with the participation of 64 young diplomats from various countries.