Cambodia helps Türkiye by all means following deadly earthquakes: Ambassador

By Gozde Bayar

ANKARA (AA) – Cambodia is helping Türkiye by all its means following the deadly earthquakes last week, the Turkish ambassador to Cambodia said on Tuesday.

"I would like to express my sincere thanks to the friendly people of Cambodia, who have helped us by all their means and given us strength with many messages of support," Ulku Kocaefe told Anadolu.

As a "solid friend" and partner of Türkiye, Cambodia's support has been rapid, Kocaefe said.

"I am grateful to Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen, and valuable members of the Cambodian Government for their condolences and donations to relief efforts," she added.

The first batch of 15 tons of in-kind donations made by Cambodian people as well as Turks in the country is on its way to reaching the quake-hit areas, she said, adding that the donations mainly consisted of blankets, quilts, sleeping bags, and winter clothes.

On Monday, Cambodia Red Cross announced that it will provide $100,000 in aid. The symbolic delivery ceremony was held at the Turkish Embassy in the capital Phnom Penh.

On Feb. 8, the government of the Southeast Asian country made a humble contribution of $100,000 in humanitarian aid to assist the ongoing relief efforts, she said. In the spirit of close friendship and solidarity with the government of Türkiye, the donation was given to the Turkish disaster management agency.

Also, Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni, Prime Minister Hun Sen, and many other officials conveyed condolence to the Turkish people.

Nearly 32,000 people died in the two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye on Feb. 6. More than 80,000 others were injured.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, including Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.