Indonesia House Speaker Hands Over Humanitarian Aid to Turkish Parliament

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Speaker of the Indonesian House of Representatives Puan Maharani handed over humanitarian assistance from Indonesia to Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, Mustafa Sentop, following an earthquake that shook Turkey on Feb. 6.

The handing over ceremony was held on the sidelines of the 8th MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey, Australia) Consultation Meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey, on March 9.

"On this occasion, I represent the DPR RI [Indonesian House of Representatives] and the Indonesian people to express my deep condolences for the earthquake in Turkey last February," Maharani said in a statement on Friday, March 10.

The House speaker also prayed for those that lost their lives in the earthquake and for the injured to recover soon.

"I am sure the Turkish government and people will bounce back even stronger after this," Puan said.

She said that Indonesia had provided humanitarian assistance to Turkey by sending a Search and Rescue (SAR) team and Emergency Medical Teams as well as by establishing field hospitals, including deploying 250 people and five Indonesian aircraft.

Also read: Two of Four Indonesians Who Died in Turkey Quake Will be Repatriated

"Besides, 17 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from Indonesia have also assisted in post-disaster mitigation in Turkey," she said.

She affirmed that the delivery of aid from Indonesia was the largest humanitarian mission that Indonesia had deployed abroad so far.

Indonesia was honored and happy to be able to help Turkey because when Indonesia was affected by a disaster, Turkey was always the first to come forward to assist, she said.