Turkiye’s envoy to Saudi thanks GCC for quake relief

Turkiye’s envoy to Saudi thanks GCC for quake relief

Turkiye’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday thanked the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for providing urgent relief to his country’s earthquake-hit regions.

Fatih Ulusoy also congratulated Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi for assuming the post of secretary general of the GCC following a meeting at the council’s headquarters in Riyadh.

Albudaiwi, who served as Kuwait’s ambassador to the US, was appointed to the position last month.

“During the meeting, cooperation opportunities between Turkiye and the GCC were also discussed,” Ulusoy said on Twitter.

#Riyadh | Deputy Minister for International Multilateral Affairs Dr. Abdulrahman AlRassi receives Ambassador of #Türkiye to the Kingdom, Mr. Fatih Ulusoy, where they reviewed bilateral relations between the two countries, in addition to discussing issues of common interest. 🇸🇦🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/3SMr7GvKB1

— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) March 2, 2023

Meanwhile, the council said in a statement that Albudaiwi affirmed the keenness of the leaders of the GCC countries “to provide urgent relief to the afflicted and those affected by the earthquake(s).

“Formed in 1981, the GCC has six members — Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman — which heavily rely on oil and gas revenues.

More than 45,000 people died in Türkiye in the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes on 6 February. MOre than 13 million people have been affected across 11 provinces, including Hatay, Adana, Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Adiyaman, Malatya, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazig and Sanliurfa.

READ: Turkiye faces challenge beyond comprehension to clear earthquake rubble