Malaysia's premier to arrive in Türkiye Tuesday to show solidarity with quake victims

ANKARA (AA) – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is expected to arrive in Türkiye late Tuesday for a one-day visit to show support and solidarity with people affected by the powerful twin earthquakes, local media said.

Premier Ibrahim will be accompanied by his Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir and other officials.

"I believe that as friends, we should always be there to give our support," the prime minister was quoted by The Star daily as saying.

He decided to pay a visit after speaking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the phone earlier on Tuesday, according to the daily.

"Initially, I was reluctant because the Special Malaysia Disaster Assistance and Rescue Team (SMART) is already there and a (field) hospital has been set up. However, in the spirit of friendship… I have decided to go there,” Ibrahim was quoted as saying in the newspaper.

On Feb. 6, two massive earthquakes struck southern Türkiye.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors were centered in Kahramanmaras and hit nine other provinces – Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

They also hit several countries and caused widespread destruction in northern Syria.

More than 31,600 people were killed in Türkiye, according to the latest official figures, while the death toll topped 3,600 in Syria.

* Writing by Islamuddin Sajid