QR 253 Million Qatar's Humanitarian Aid for the Earthquake Victims

Humanitarian aid

The volume of the State of Qatar's humanitarian aid to the earthquake victims in Turkiye and northern Syria amounted to about QR 253 million, including food, medical and other aid, at a time when Qatar continues to pursue field priorities to support rescue efforts and alleviate the suffering of those affected.

Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Majed Mohammed Al Ansari, detailed the aforementioned assistance during the weekly media briefing organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at its headquarters today.

He explained that the obligations of the State of Qatar to the brothers affected by the effects of the earthquake in Turkiye and northern Syria amounted to QR 85 million during the first 10 days of the disaster, while pointing out that the urgent relief campaign "Aoun Wa Sanad" for the earthquake victims launched by the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities (RACA) collected in one night QR 168 million, including the donation of HH the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, with the amount of QR 50 million in favor of the campaign.

He stressed that the number of air bridge flights has so far reached 30, carrying more than 600 tons of food, medical and humanitarian aid, and 650 ready-made housing units of mobile homes have been shipped out of a total of 10,000 mobile homes, which are being planned to be transported and delivered to Turkish ports as soon as possible, in addition to the Qatar Fund for Development providing support to the operations of the Syrian Civil Defense (the White Helmets), in order to rescue and relief the victims of the earthquake in Syria and to assist the search and rescue teams, as well as providing the necessary support to repair ambulances to help transport the wounded to hospitals and working to meet the great need for fuel to operate heavy vehicles, He noted that the remaining part of the support will be used to cover the necessary activities in the affected areas and to rehabilitate the basic infrastructure.

Al Ansari pointed to the continued provision of Qatari aid in coordination with the brothers in Turkiye and northern Syria, pointing out the importance of focusing on the issue of following up on field priorities in terms of the great and enormous needs, adding that there are logistical difficulties, especially in reaching some areas in northern Syria, stressing that Qatar has tried as much as possible to make an effort to support rescue efforts and alleviate the suffering of those affected.

Advisor to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed the participation of the State of Qatar in the work of the 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC), which is scheduled to begin on Friday, Feb. 17 and continue until the 19th of the same month, pointing out that Qatar is keen to participate in this conference as one of the most important conferences concerned with global security in general.

He pointed out that HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani will represent the State of Qatar in this important conference, which is being held this year under exceptional circumstances on the humanitarian and political levels, pointing out that His Excellency will meet with a number of his foreign minister counterparts participating in this conference, and will also participate in a number of side meetings. 

He touched on the visit of HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, to Washington, D.C., last week, pointing out that he held a series of meetings aimed at developing bilateral relations between the two countries, and also discussed many regional and international issues, on top of which are developments and talks to return to the nuclear agreement and the Russian-Ukrainian crisis, in addition to the situation in Afghanistan, energy issues, climate change and cooperation in the field of disasters, as well as discussing ways to coordinate international efforts for rescue and relief operations and aid delivery to Turkiye and northern Syria, in addition to a number of international issues of common interest. Al-Ansari pointed out that His Excellency met with HE Secretary of State of the United States of America Anthony Blinken, and with HE the US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, in addition to a number of US officials, members of the Senate and Representatives in the United States of America, and a number of state governors, including Governors of Oklahoma and Arizona.

On the other hand, Al-Ansari referred to the convening of a Qatari-Bahraini meeting to set mechanisms and procedures for launching the course of bilateral talks at the headquarters of the General Secretariat of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, where the delegation of the State of Qatar at the meeting was headed by HE Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani, representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain was headed by HE Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Minister of Foreign Affairs, pointing out that the talks were at the level of bilateral committees between the two countries.

He added that the two sides stressed, at the conclusion of the meeting, the importance of work and cooperation between the two brotherly countries in a way that enhances brotherly relations, achieves the aspirations of their peoples for security, stability and development, and supports the GCC joint action. Al-Ansari noted the convening of the first meeting of the Qatari-Bahraini Follow-up Committee, where the delegation of the State of Qatar at the meeting was headed by HE Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ahmed bin Hassan Al Hammadi, while the delegation of the Kingdom of Bahrain was headed by HE Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sheikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa. During the meeting, they discussed the necessary procedures and mechanisms and ways to ensure the success of the bilateral talks to end the pending special files between the two brotherly countries, in accordance with what was included in the Al-Ula statement issued by the Al-Ula summit held in the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and in a way that achieves the aspirations of the peoples of the two brotherly countries for security, stability and prosperity.

The two sides agreed to hold periodic and continuous meetings with the aim of achieving the desired goals. For his part, the Director of Media & Communication Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ibrahim Sultan Al-Hashmi, reviewed the meetings of the Ministry's officials with ambassadors and diplomats, pointing to the meeting of HE Assistant Foreign Minister Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, with HE Member of the Federal Parliament (Bundestag) of the Federal Republic of Germany Schahina Gambir, during her recent visit to the country, and the meeting reviewed the bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries and ways to support and develop them, and the developments in Afghanistan.

In the same regard, he referred to her Excellency's meeting with HE Director General for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Petar Mihatov, during which they reviewed bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries and ways of supporting and consolidating them, and discussed the repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and the latest developments in Afghanistan, and the Balkan countries. During the meeting, HE Director General for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia congratulated the State of Qatar for its success in organizing the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

(QNA)