Whatever you need, let us know, Momen tells Turkish counterpart
Bangladesh's Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had a telephone conversation on Wednesday (15 February) with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu to express solidarity with the government and people of Turkey, and to assure of additional support.
Momen conveyed to the Turkish foreign minister that Bangladesh is sending additional 10,000 tents, with the initial 2000, to Turkey for earthquake victims, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
He also requested his Turkish counterpart to let Bangladesh know if they need anything else, adding that Bangladesh wants to send construction workers for reconstruction efforts in the affected areas.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Momen again expressed condolences for the loss of lives caused by the earthquakes and pledged support for Turkish people.
"We are truly devastated by the scale of destruction and deaths. We express our wholehearted condolence and also, as your brother, we will try to assist you as much as we can. This is a great shock to all of us in Bangladesh," he told his Turkish counterpart during the phone call.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu thanked Momen for calling and also thanked the government of Bangladesh – including the president, the prime minister, speaker of the parliament and the foreign minister – and the people for their sincere messages of condolence and solidarity.
Thanking the Bangladesh government for sending search, rescue and medical teams and tents, he said these are what they urgently need at this moment.
Foreign Minister Momen wanted to know about the current situation and his Turkish counterpart stated that the situation is not stable yet, and it is worse than what people are seeing on TV.
"We lost more than 35,000 people and there are people under the rubbles that we couldn't reach. We are doing our best to normalize life, to provide temporary shelter, and also, we are planning the reconstruction of the region affected by the earthquakes," said the Turkish foreign minister.
He also expressed concerns about the Bangladeshi citizens who were wounded and wished them quick recovery.
Momen said two Bangladeshi students have been rescued from debris and they are doing fine.
Offering Bangladesh's support, Momen said, "We can send the construction workers. And whatever you need, let us know and we will try our best."
"If we need anything else, we will reach out without hesitation," the Turkish foreign minister responded, as quoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The death toll from the magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck nine hours apart in south-eastern Turkey and northern Syria rose to 33,185 and was certain to increase as search teams find more bodies.
