As international humanitarian aid struggles to get organized in Syria, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad thanked Abu Dhabi on Sunday for its “enormous humanitarian aid”, after the earthquake which struck Syria and neighboring Turkey last Monday. . At the same time, the head of state received in Damascus the head of Emirati diplomacy, Abdallah ben Zayed Al-Nahyan.
The United Arab Emirates, whose relations with Damascus have warmed since 2018, are at the forefront of the humanitarian response in Syria, where authorities say the devastating earthquake killed more than 3,500 people. Abu Dhabi initially announced 12.7 million euros in humanitarian aid to Syria before promising an additional 47 million euros.
Food aid, medicine and first aiders
Bashar al-Assad, quoted by the Syrian presidency, thanked the “leaders and the people of the United Arab Emirates for the help they provide to the Syrian people”, noting that the Emirates were among “the first countries to stand sides of Syria and to send huge humanitarian aid and rescue teams”. He praised their “quick response, which reflects the depth of bilateral relations”.
In the wake of the earthquake, Abu Dhabi has sent several tons of food aid, relief, medical equipment, and rescuers operating since Friday in the coastal city of Jableh (west), seriously affected. Emirati planes land in Damascus and Latakia (west), which received its first convoy of Emirati food aid on Saturday on board a Russian plane.
The Ambassador in Jableh
Sixteen Emirati planes have arrived in Syria since the tragedy, an official from the Ministry of Transport, Souleiman Khalil, said on Sunday, adding that an airlift had been set up by the Emirates to help the victims of the earthquake. According to the press release from the Syrian presidency, the Emirati minister also went to the affected regions to “observe the efforts of the Emirati rescue team”, without specifying which areas he visited.
The pro-government newspaper Al-Watan for its part published a photo of the head of Emirati diplomacy in the coastal city of Jableh, among the most affected, in the province of Latakia, stronghold of the Assad family.