Officials during the signing ceremony.
Boosting its efforts to address the ongoing Syrian crisis and to alleviate the suffering of Syrian people, Qatar Charity (QC) recently signed a number of agreements with various Turkish relief and humanitarian stakeholders. Three Memoranda of Understanding were signed with Turkish Red Crescent (TRC), IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation and the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD).
A delegation led by Yusuf bin Ahmed Al Kuwari, CEO, QC, signed the agreements with the relief organisations both in the capital Ankara and in Istanbul, which cover areas of cooperation in development and relief inside and outside of Turkey and which mainly focus on providing aid to affected Syrians.
“We expect to increase the speed of services provided to our Syrian and Turkish brothers by opening a QC regional office in Ankara and by entering into several important strategic partnerships with other partners,” said Al Kuwari.
He expressed his appreciation of cooperation with Turkish strategic partners with extensive experience in the humanitarian field. He noted that the cooperation is part of QC’s efforts to cooperate with international and regional humanitarian organisations.
“The partnership will be positively reflected in the services provided to Syrian refugees and displaced people,” he added.
The MoU signed with TRC focuses on cooperation in critical areas in relation to humanitarian and developmental services inside and outside of Turkey. The parties will strengthen and support their efforts in these services and provide aid to the affected and needy through the partnership. Cooperation covers several areas between the two parties, but most importantly, preparedness and response to disasters, water and sanitation, shelter and housing, health support, medical rehabilitation, food security, livelihood support, food aid, nutrition, education, vocational training, capacity building, social welfare, agriculture and support. This General Convention is valid for five years and may be renewed for similar periods.
In addition to this general convention, a sub-convention was also signed for the Syrians. Both the parties allocated $10m to provide vital services over the course of the next five years in the areas like education, primary and secondary healthcare, vocational training and job creation, capacity building, and psychosocial support.
Also, QC donated an ambulance to TRC branch in Antakya to distribute relief aid to Syrian refugees and support the branch’s efforts to cooperate and visit the camps located in southern Turkey.
Meanwhile, QC and IHH have renewed their MoU which focuses on cooperation in several areas inside and outside of Turkey, for five years. Also, sub-conventions have been signed for the Syrians, according to which QR 3,507,595 has been allocated to help provide winter relief materials for Syria, in addition to operating a restaurant for four months. Under the auspices of the Qatar Ambassador in Turkey, Salem bin Mubarak Al Shafi, the Ankara QC office has signed an MoU with AFAD, which is valid for five years and focuses on cooperation regarding humanitarian and relief efforts inside and outside of Turkey. QC allocated $3,300,000 to support shelter efforts for the Syrians through AFAD.
