Turkey with Bangladesh in dealing with Rohingya crisis: Envoy

Turkish Ambassador to Bangladesh Mustafa Osman Turan has reiterated his country's continued support to the government of Bangladesh over the Rohingya issue. 

Bangladesh is hosting over a million of Rohingyas in Cox's Bazar camps.

Turkey also provides assistance to host communities in Cox's Bazar. 

The Ambassador paid a two-day visit to Cox's Bazar recently to meet new RRRC Shah Rezwan Hayat and Deputy Commissioner Md Kamal Hossain and see firsthand the ongoing activities of humanitarian organisations of the Turkish government, namely TIKA, AFAD, Turkish Diyanet Foundation and Turkish Red Crescent.

During the meetings with the RRRC and DC, both sides agreed to intensify their dialogue and collaboration to deal with this ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Turkish Ambassador visited the Field Hospital run jointly by AFAD and Turkish Ministry of Health, which provides medical treatment to over 1000 patients both from the Rohingya and host communities on a daily basis. 

Ambassador Turan discussed with the officials of UNHCR, RRRC and CiC of Camp-9, regarding the extension of the area allocated for the operations of the hospital.

During his visit, the Turkish Ambassador distributed micro-agriculture sets, met with Rohingya children in a playground, and visited Multipurpose Skills Development Centre, all of which have been implemented by TIKA. 

He also received information about the humanitarian assistance projects such as community centers and health posts of Turkish Red Crescent, soap production and sewing ateliers of Turkish Diyanet Foundation.

Turkey was one of the first countries to establish presence in the Rohingya camps to deliver much needed humanitarian assistance since 2017, said the Turkish Embassy. 

Some of the Turkish agencies and NGOs have been operating in Bangladesh even before the crisis to support the implementation of the priorities set by the government of Bangladesh, it said.