'Netherlands ready to support post-quake reconstruction in Türkiye'
Dutch minister for foreign trade and development cooperation Liesje Schreinemacher visits Hatay province, March 28, 2023. (AA Photo)


The Netherlands pledged support for the reconstruction of Türkiye's earthquake-hit Hatay province on Tuesday.

Liesje Schreinemacher, the Dutch minister for foreign trade and development cooperation, visited Hatay province, which was among the 11 Turkish provinces hit hardest by last month's twin earthquakes, and met victims in tent cities.

Expressing grief over the catastrophe, Schreinemacher said that the Dutch government and business sphere are ready to contribute for the province's reconstruction.

The minister also paid visits to Sarımiye Mosque, the Turkish Catholic Church of Antioch, and the historical Habibi Neccar Mosque, known as the first mosque in Anatolia, which were damaged by the earthquakes.

On Feb. 6, the magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes struck 11 provinces – Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Hatay, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa – affecting more than 13.5 million people in Türkiye, as well as many others in northern Syria.