The international community rallied behind Türkiye after devastating earthquakes dubbed "disaster of the century" claimed thousands of lives in the country's southeast. The government launched a global solidarity campaign to help the victims of earthquakes, its directorate of communications said Sunday.
The "We Stand with Türkiye" campaign was launched in 18 countries to maintain the global solidarity that surged after Feb. 6 quakes, the directorate said. Emphasizing the importance of solidarity shown toward Türkiye as search and rescue teams, health personnel, and messages of support, the campaign was launched in the U.S., the U.K., France, Spain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Hungary, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.
As part of the campaign, informative content about the disaster, scientific data, and the work carried out immediately in its aftermath was also published in English on the website westandwithturkiye.com and in Turkish on seninleyizturkiye.com. Video messages of support for Türkiye by well-known figures, including U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, famous actors Morgan Freeman, Aamir Khan, Reshat Strik, singer Jamala, Yasmin Levy, Della Miles, and athlete Matwe Middelkoop are also published on the websites.
"The spirit of unity and solidarity that emerged with the disaster in our country has not only resonated at the national level but also at the international level, and the solidarity of the century was put forth after the disaster of the century," said Communications Director Fahrettin Altun.
"Countries that joined each other upon a common pain have demonstrated the importance of collective responsibility, cooperation, and international solidarity in the face of global crises. From here, we remind once again of the importance of acting with a common mind and conscience and international cooperation for the establishment of stability, peace, and prosperity, not only in crisis but also in our region and throughout the world, and we hope that no country will experience similar pains," he added.
On Monday, Brussels will host an international donors' conference organized by European Union (EU) to help victims of earthquakes that cost Türkiye more than $103 billion. Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu will represent Türkiye at the conference. Along with EU member states, countries candidate for membership, G-20 countries minus Russia, member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the U.N. member countries, European financial institutions, and international organizations are expected to attend the conference.
The event and donations at the meeting will pave the way for World Bank loans to Türkiye for post-earthquake recovery. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is scheduled to send a video message to the conference, starting with speeches by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ulf Kristersson, prime minister of Sweden, which holds the rotating EU presidency.
The conference will also focus on the devastation the earthquakes inflicted on Syria. The donors' conference was initially planned for March 16 before the EU announced a rescheduling to March 20. The EU has allocated at least 12 million euros ($12.7 million) in humanitarian aid for the immediate needs of the population in Türkiye and another 10 million euros for Syria.