Turkey sends medical aid to Iraq

ANKARA

A Turkish plane carrying medical supplies departed from the capital Ankara for Iraq on July 1 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“A Turkish Armed Forces aircraft carrying the medical supplies jointly prepared by @saglikbakanligi and the Ministry of National Defense, at the direction of President Erdogan, for use against the #COVID19 outbreak, took off from Ankara Etimesgut Airbase for Iraq,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a tweet.

The boxes of aid bore the words of 13th-century poet Mevlana Rumi, “There is hope after despair and many suns after darkness,” in Turkish and in Arabic, along with the message: “With love from Turkey to the people of Iraq.”

The aid, containing masks, Turkey’s indigenous ventilators, visors and protective goggles and suits, was dispatched upon the instructions of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Presidential spokesperson İbraim Kalın said on June 28 that Turkey will send medical aid to Iraqi and Turkmen people.

Thanking Turkey on Twitter, Iraqi Turkmen Front head Ersat Salihi said this will reduce coronavirus cases in the country.

“Turkey always stands with its Turkmen and Iraqi brothers,” Kalın responded to Salihi’s post.

According to data provided by the U.S.’s Johns Hopkins University, Iraq has 49,109 confirmed COVID-19 cases with the death toll reaching 1,943.