Turkey has donated five million dollars to the flood-affected people of Pakistan, officials said Wednesday.
Babur Hizlan, Ambassador of Turkey to Pakistan, met Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani to hand over a cheque from the Turkish government for Prime Minister's Flood Relief Fund, the PM office said.
The ambassador informed the prime minister that in addition to this cash grant and the plane load of 3.5 metric tons of relief goods already sent to Pakistan on Aug. 4, his government would be sending three other planes carrying relief assistance to Pakistan on Aug. 11, 13 and 17.
He added that as promised by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, over the phone to the prime minister of Pakistan on Aug. 4, Turkey will wholeheartedly participate in the reconstruction phase of flood affected areas, once the water recedes.
The prime minister conveyed the gratitude of his government and people of Pakistan for the generous support of brotherly government and people of Turkey in these trying times and noted that Turkey was amongst those few countries which had taken the lead in sending immediate assistance directly to the Government of Pakistan for its urgent and optimum utilization for providing relief to the flood affectees.
Gilani underlined the immediate requirement for more tents as a large number of evacuated people were still living out in the open and need to have shelter on immediate basis. He hoped that the next installment of relief goods from Turkey would include substantial quantity of tents for the flood victims.