Egyptian aid vessel heads to Syria’s Lattakia, Turkey’s Mersin

CAIRO – 2 March 2023: An aid ship affiliated with the national maritime merchant fleet departed on Thursday from Arish port, heading to the Syrian port of Lattakia and the Turkish port of Mersin, announced the Egyptian Ministry of Defense in a statement.

The assistance came upon President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s directives to support the Syrian and Turkish victims affected by the twin earthquakes (7.8 and 7.5 magnitudes) that claimed the lives of more than 50,000 people since Feb. 6.

The vessel is loaded with hundreds of tons of relief aid provided by the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the Egyptian House of Zakat and Al-Azhar-affiliated charities, and the Long Live Egypt Fund.

Syrian and Turkish officials expressed deep thanks and appreciation for the efforts made by Egypt.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry made a visit to quake-hit Syria and Turkey to extend a message of solidarity from the Egyptian people on Feb. 27.

During his visit to Syria, Shoukry met with President Bashar El-Assad in the headquarters of the Syrian Foreign Ministry, where they discussed the historic Egyptian-Syrian relations.

During the meeting, Assad thanked Egypt for the aid that it provided to support the Syrian government’s relief efforts, affirming that Syria is keen on maintaining its relations with Egypt, the Syrian Presidency said in a statement.

The Syrian president also highlighted the need to look at Egyptian-Syrian relations from a general perspective within a natural and historic framework for these relations.

"Work to improve the relations between the Arab countries on the bilateral level is the basis for improving the Arab situation in general," Assad said during his meeting with Shoukry.

After his visit to Syria, Shoukry headed to Turkey where he was received by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu in Adana Airport.

Later, Shoukry and Cavusoglu headed to Mersin port to receive Egypt’s sixth shipment of relief aid to Turkey as part of the Egyptian efforts to help deal with the consequences of the devastating earthquake.

During the visit, Shoukry offered his condolences over the victims of the earthquake and affirmed the solidarity of the Egyptian leadership, government and people with Turkey.

The Egyptian foreign minister also asserted the continuity of Egyptian aid to support Turkey and its brotherly people.

Additional reporting by Amr Kandil