Baku, Azerbaijan, May 23
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
The international community must assist Turkey in dealing with Syrian refugees, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
President Erdogan made the remarks speaking at the opening ceremony of the first World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, TRT Haber TV channel reported May 23.
President Erdogan said that Turkey continues to render humanitarian assistance to Syrian refugees.
According to the Turkish Office for the Prevention and Elimination of Consequences of Emergency (AFAD), at present, three million Syrian refugees are in Turkey.
First World Humanitarian Summit is being held by an initiative of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon with the organizational support of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The summit involves representatives of 177 countries, including 125 heads of state and governments.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko, President of Georgia Giorgi Margvelashvili, President of Macedonia Gjorge Ivanov, President of Mali Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, the 5th Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah IV Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, Prime Minister of Lebanon Tammam Salam, as well as leaders of other countries are taking part in the summit.
The purpose of the summit is to strengthen the international humanitarian system.
It is not a coincidence that Istanbul was chosen as a venue to host the summit, since Turkey received the largest number of refugees.
The summit will continue its work May 23-24.
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