The representative office in Turkey signed an agreement with the non-governmental organization ASAM to use donations from Chinese people to provide emergency assistance to the earthquake victims in Turkey.

The picture shows Huang Zhiyang (middle), the representative to Turkey, and Huang Bocun (left 1), the leader of the Taiwanese search and rescue team who went to Turkey for disaster relief in mid-February. On behalf of the government, they donated part of the disaster relief equipment to the Istanbul Volunteer Group Search and Rescue Association (AKUT).

(Central News Agency)

[Central News Agency] The representative office in Turkey signed an agreement with the non-governmental organization ASAM to use donations from the people of Taiwan to provide emergency assistance to earthquake victims.

ASAM pointed out that Taiwan was one of the countries that extended aid the fastest after the strong earthquake in Turkey, and it was also the first donor country to sign a cooperation agreement with ASAM and confirm the availability of resources.

Representative to Turkey Huang Zhiyang signed an agreement in Ankara today with Ibrahim Vurgun Kavlak, director-general of the NGO Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants (Association for Solidarity with Asylum Seekers and Migrants, ASAM), to start the half-year " Emergency Humanitarian Aid in Turkey" cooperation plan.

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The representative office in Turkey pointed out that the two sides will cooperate with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the Turkish Disaster and Response Management Agency (AFAD) and the Ministry of the Interior's Immigration Administration (Presidency of Migration Management). Emergency assistance was provided to victims in major quake-hit provinces including Adiyaman, Hatay and Kahramanmaras.

The representative office stated that through this agreement, Taiwan will assist in the establishment of shelters for disaster victims in the above-mentioned provinces, distribution of emergency sanitary supplies, food, clothing, establishment of temporary psychological counseling centers to provide psychological reconstruction counseling and health education on epidemic diseases, and Cash relief will be provided depending on the emergency relief needs of the victims in individual cases.

ASAM has launched many related disaster relief operations shortly after the earthquake.

Huang Zhiyang said that today's ceremony is mainly to sign the first phase of the emergency relief agreement with ASAM, using 4 million US dollars (approximately NT$120 million) in donations from the people of Taiwan to provide emergency relief materials for the victims.

He said that the representative office is also negotiating with ASAM on follow-up medical and educational plan cooperation for the post-disaster recovery stage, including providing 2 million US dollars to cooperate with the planning of the Turkish Ministry of Health to set up prefabricated housing clinics in 13 densely populated areas in the severe disaster area, and Provided 14 mobile clinic vehicles to provide temporary medical services in remote disaster-stricken areas with difficult traffic.

He pointed out that in order to cooperate with the education recovery plan of the Turkish Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Family and Social Services, Taiwan will cooperate with ASAM to set up modular housing information classrooms and mobile information classrooms in the hardest-hit areas to provide one-year education bridging services for students in the disaster areas, including examinations , classes and extracurricular activities.

In addition, Huang Zhiyang said that this information education assistance plan also covers the donation of computer equipment to provide online courses for college students and victims of disasters and assist in the completion of the computer hardware equipment needed for rebuilding information classrooms in universities in disaster areas. The overall plan cost is US$7 million. "Taiwan is a kingdom of computers and information equipment. It is very meaningful to provide assistance in this field."

He said that whether it is emergency or development aid, Taiwan's approach is in line with the standards of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries.

ASAM's expertise in the field of humanitarian assistance is unquestionable, and it is one of the main NGO partners working closely with the specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN) and the Turkish government.

"As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan has long faced humanitarian issues caused by various disasters. As long as there is a place where it can help, Taiwan will never be absent, such as the Syrian war, the Russian-Ukrainian war, the earthquake in Afghanistan, and the strong earthquake in Turkey. Humanitarian assistance is an important part of Taiwan's foreign policy, and it is also Taiwan's firm action to give back and support the international community."

Kaflaq said that he understood that the aid money came from the people of Taiwan, and once again expressed his sincere gratitude to the people of Taiwan, the government and the representative office in Turkey, and explained that the aid money will enable ASAM to effectively assist the hardest-hit areas.

After the signing of the agreement, ASAM also arranged interviews with two mainstream Turkish media, Ihlas News Agency and the state-run Anadolu Agency.