Turkish minister visits quake-hit city of Indonesia 

PALU – Anadolu Agency

Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak visited Indonesia’s city of Palu, which was hit by an earthquake and a tsunami, on the sidelines of the G-20 meetings on Oct. 10.

“We believe Indonesia and its people will come out from this crisis even stronger. We are also here to show our solidarity both materially and spiritually.  Turkey is with them in prayers Representatives of the Turkish Red Crescent and the Turkish Emergency and Disaster Management Authority (AFAD) accompanied the minister during the visit to the disaster-hit areas,” Albayrak told Anadolu Agency.

The Turkish Red Crescent also distributed basic necessity  packages to the victims.

Albayrak noted that Turkey had a history of helping people in danger regardless of language, religion or race.

“Our country is among the first nations to lend a helping hand to Indonesia, AFAD, Turkish Red Crescent, IHH and all of our humanitarian organizations reached here quickly. Indonesia and Turkey are friendly countries [...],” he added.

On Sept. 28, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake struck Sulawesi Island, which triggered a tsunami in the cities of Donggala and Palu, which towered up to 3 meters high.     

The death toll has climbed to 2,045.