Turkey on Thursday recollected Mahatma Gandhi’s support to its liberation struggle and said the assistance sent to India to defeat COVID-19 was rooted in historic bilateral ties. Ankara sent assistance on Wednesday following telephone conversation between External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu.
Turkish assistance consisted of 50 MT of medical supplies including 5 oxygen generators, 680 oxygen cylinders, 50 ventilators and 50,000 boxes of anti-viral medicine. The consignments were sent on board two A400M military cargo aircraft. A statement from the Embassy of Turkey informed that Mr. Cavusoglu offered to send the assistance during the telephone conversation held on April 26.
The statement cited India’s past support to landmark events in Turkey’s history which built bilateral relations.
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“The assistance and contribution of Indian people and the prominent Indian figures like the father of the Indian nation — Mahatma Gandhi who collected funds to support Turkey’s Liberation War between 1919-1923, and Dr. Mukhtar Ahmad Ansari who led the medical mission to Ottoman Empire and set up field hospitals to treat wounded Ottoman soldiers during the Balkan War in 1912 are still very much alive in the memories of Turkish people,” a press release from the Embassy of Turkey stated.