ANKARA: Myanmar has allowed Turkey to deliver humanitarian aid to Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine State, Turkish presidential spokesman said Tuesday.
In a written statement, Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Myanmar government has permitted the access of personnel from the Turkish Coordination and Cooperation Agency (TIKA) to the region and distribute 1,000 tons of aid in the first phase.
The permission comes hours after a telephone call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Myanmar State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi.
The spokesman said the aid packages, including rice, dried fish and clothes, will be sent to the region by military helicopters starting from Wednesday.
Turkey will also deliver medical supplies to those in need, he added.
The aid is planned to be delivered to the Maungtaw and Buthi Taung regions of Myanmar with the coordination of the Rakhine State government.
Turkey will also distribute humanitarian aid to the Rohingyas in camps in Bangladesh.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and TIKA chief Serdar Cam would visit Cox’s Bazar district in Bangladesh, where thousands of Rohingya people have taken shelter in the last 10 days.
Kalin said Turkey plans to initially distribute aid to 100,000 families in coordination with the governments of Bangladesh and Myanmar.
TIKA is the first foreign aid agency to get permission from Myanmar government to enter the region since the violence began on Aug. 25, he noted.
