Turkey sends aid worth 640 mln TL to Somalia

ANKARA (A.A) - February 22, 2012 - Turkey has sent 640 million Turkish lira (365 million USD) cash and in-kind aid to Somalia, a statement by the Prime Ministry Public Diplomacy Coordinator's Office said on Wednesday. The Public Diplomacy Coordinator's Office released a statement on Turkey's assistance to Somalia ahead of the International Conference on Somalia that will be held in British capital of London on Thursday. The statement said the famine killed at least 29,000 children in Somalia last year. Turkey has made important initiatives fighting against famine and drought in Somalia in the past two years. Istanbul hosted Somalia Conference with participation of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in May 2010. With Turkey's call, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation convened at an extraordinary session on August 17, 2011 and 350 million USD of aid has been collected for Somalia, the statement recalled. It said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a visit to Somali capital of Mogadishu. A total of 550 million TL of cash has been collected in Turkey for Somalia, it added.