Türkiye obtains $270 mln additional funding for quake relief

ANKARA

Türkiye has secured an additional 250 million euros ($270,540) in funding from the Council of Europe Development Bank as part of reconstruction efforts in regions affected by last year’s earthquakes in the country’s south, Finance and Treasury Minister Mehmet Şimşek has announced.

The quakes killed over 53,000 people and rendered thousands of buildings either collapsed or uninhabitable. Turkish authorities previously estimated the economic toll of the earthquakes to exceed $104 billion.

To date, $3.8 billion in external financing has been procured to mitigate the problems in the earthquake-impacted areas and to enhance the quality of life for residents, Şimşek told the media on July 10.

The Turkish ministry continues to endeavor to secure favorable external financing from international organizations for the region's reconstruction, he said.

“Within this framework, Türkiye has obtained an additional 250 million euros from the Council of Europe Development Bank for healthcare infrastructure expenditures in the earthquake zone.”

Şimşek highlighted the significance of this funding for the affected area, noting that the financing aims to contribute to the improvement and reconstruction needs and to bolster the healthcare system in the affected settlements.

He also recalled that a loan agreement was signed recently with the Japan International Cooperation Agency for 60 billion yen ($371,500) to be used under the "Türkiye Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Framework Project."

"These funds underscore both the confidence in Türkiye’s potential and the adherence to rule-based, internationally normative, rational policies."

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities signed an agreement in Ankara on July 9 to continue Türkiye’s participation in the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Turkish Foreign Minister Mehmet Kemal Bozay hailed the long-standing tradition of cooperation between the EU and Türkiye in civil protection. He highlighted that the benefits of this collaboration were evident during the 2021 forest fires and the aftermath of the Feb. 6, 2023 earthquakes. Since 2016, the EU has provided over 50 million euros in grant support to Türkiye for projects related to forest fires and post-earthquake recovery.