Albanian premier: We stand with the Turkish people

MUNICH (AA) – Albania’s prime minister on Friday voiced solidarity with Türkiye after deadly earthquakes, voicing confidence that the country will overcome this disaster.

“It’s very, very terrible tragedy. It’s one of those things in life that words are never able to express,” Edi Rama told Anadolu during the Munich Security Conference.

“We stand with the Turkish people, and we pray for the victims. We wish that all the wounded people will recover. And we very much wish that the families of the victims will overcome this,” he said.

Rama mentioned how when his country was hit by a major quake in 2019, Türkiye quickly offered help, and later Turkish companies completed housing for Albanian quake victims in a very short period of time.

“I have no doubt that when it comes to reconstruction, the president of Türkiye and the government will do what should be done,” he said.

“We have seen this you know in Albania, and it’s amazing what they have done. Of course proportions are incomparable. But I think all the expertise, the will is there,” he added.

On Wednesday, Rama donated €1 million ($1.06 million) to Türkiye's new campaign for quake victims, earning him widespread praise on social media.

Over 39,000 people were killed and more than 105,000 others injured in the deadly quakes that jolted southern Türkiye, according to the latest official figures.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes were centered in Kahramanmaras and struck 10 other provinces – Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa. More than 13 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.