Seeing Turkey And Venezuela's Friendship In An Assisted Airplane

Photo illustration (Niels and Marco / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The Turkish government has just sent aid to Venezuela in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. A total of 24 ventilators, 150 thousand test kits, 150 thousand masks and personal protective equipment (PPE) are part of the aid package.

Launching Yeni Safak, Turkish Ambassador to Venezuela Sevki Mutevellioglu said the arrival of the Turkish plane and the assistance was a form of friendship between the two countries. Turkey and Venezuela have collaborated a lot, including various health projects overseen by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA).

Mutevellioglu also said Venezuela welcomed Turkish assistance amid Venezuela's crippled economy. In fact, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has directly praised Turkey's government for being fast, responsive and effective in a friendly country.

The moment for the delivery of aid was also used by Turkey to evacuate four of their citizens trapped in Venezuela during the pandemic. Mutevellioglu added that cooperation in the health sector between the two countries had existed long before the outbreak of COVID-19. He said TIKA has been working with Venezuela for more than two years.

It was recorded that in 2018, TIKA had donated various medical devices, including an incubator for the Hugo Chavez Mother and Child Hospital. All aid was also sent to three Venezuelan hospitals which in 2019 experienced a medical equipment crisis.

Even though the COVID-19 outbreak hit the economies of the two countries hard, the bilateral trade cooperation between the two countries is getting stronger. "The volume of bilateral trade in the first six months of 2020 shows a tremendous increase compared to last year," said Mutevellioglu.

So far Venezuela has confirmed 13,613 cases of COVID-19 transmission. Among them, there were 126 cases died.