Turkey donates $1.25M in hydraulic equipment to Niger

NIAMEY, Niger (AA) - Turkey donated hydraulic equipment worth $1.2 million to the government of Niger on Tuesday.

The equipment include a drilling rig, two support trucks, and other services, said Barmou Salifou, the landlocked Western African country’s water and sanitation minister, during the handover ceremony.

"Turkey has been supporting Niger’s water and sanitation sector for nearly a decade. The support began with the realization of water infrastructure in the Maradi region under the supervision of a group of NGOs in 2008," Salifou said.

The aid was realized through a project supervised by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), which has built over 258 drinking water wells fitted with pumps, mainly in the Maradi, Dosso, Tillabery, and Niamey regions, Salifou added.

In its latest move, Turkey is in line with the 2008 Turkey-Africa Summit held in Istanbul, said Huseyin Ozdemir, Turkey’s ambassador to Niger.

“At the summit, Turkey adopted a strategic document for Africa, and a steering committee in charge of coordinating the strategy was set up with the participation of the ministries of forests and other relevant state bodies,” Ozdemir added.

"Climate change and recurrent droughts have affected water resources in many African countries, including Niger," he added.