
Egypt's First Lady Entissar Amer and her Turkish counterpart Emine Erdoğan visit the Egyptian Red Crescent headquarter in Cairo, 14 February 2024. Photo courtesy of Emine Erdoğan
During the visit, both ladies were briefed about the latest developments regarding the work progress of both foundations, especially the Egyptian Red Crescent's recent efforts to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid into the besieged Gaza Strip.
"I welcome Egypt’s dear guest, Mrs Emine Erdoğan, wife of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. I was honoured to meet her on the precious land of Egypt," Egypt's First Lady wrote on her official facebook account.
During the meeting, Amer and Erdoğan further discussed issues regarding community protection and initiatives related to aid, highlighting the Egyptian efforts made in this regard.
"A precious visit and a significant step for Turkiye's First Lady on the land of Egypt. I look forward to enhancing our cooperation in various fields." Egypt's First Lady posted on Facebook.
From her side, Erdoğan expressed her happiness to visit Haya Karima foundation, which supports the development of rural and poor areas, adding that she was briefed about the foundation's activities, which especially improve the living conditions of women, children and orphans.
"I was pleased to learn that Haya Karima foundation was the first organisation to be present with a large team of volunteers at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza since the first day of the war," she wrote on her official X account.
Haya Karima initiative, introduced by Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in January 2019, aims to elevate the quality of life for the most vulnerable segments of the Egyptian society, with a particular focus on enhancing daily services in rural areas.
Moreover, Turkiye's First Lady expressed her deep appreciation for the tremendous efforts of the Egyptian institutions and non-governmental organisations to deliver humanitarian aid to Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since the outbreak of the crisis on 7 October.
During the tour, Erdoğan was briefed about the activities of the Egyptian Red Crescent and its efforts in organising the process of aid delivery to the Gaza Strip.
"So far, Turkiye has delivered over seven tonnes of humanitarian aid and basic supplies to Gaza by planes and ships, in coordination with the Egyptian Red Crescent," she noted.
"In Turkiye, many of our non-governmental organisations is working to provide supplies through Turkiye's Ministry of Interior's Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) and the Turkish Red Crescent, in cooperation with the Egyptian Red Crescent and non-governmental organisations," Erdoğan wrote on X.
She stressed that they will continue their efforts in Turkiye to ensure the sustainable delivery of aid to Gaza, expressing her gratitude to everyone who contributed to delivering aid to the Gaza Strip.
Concluding, Erdoğan greeted all the foundation's volunteers and officials, who coordinately worked to ensure the delivery of aid to Gaza.
Early Wednesday, El-Sisi received his Turkish counterpart in Cairo, in his first visit to Egypt in 12 years.
During a presser with El-Sisi, the Turkish President thanked the Egyptian Red Crescent and the Egyptian Ministry of Health for facilitating the entry of humanitarian aid to Gaza and treating the wounded and injured from the Strip.
In November, Egypt and Turkiye agreed to transport nearly 1,000 Palestinians from Gaza, including child cancer patients, through the Rafah border crossing to receive treatment in Turkiye.
In addition, the Egyptian Red Crescent volunteer teams maintain a daily presence between Egypt and Gaza to deliver aid, offering psychological support to wounded foreign nationals.
Egypt has been facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid through the Rafah border crossing into the Gaza Strip, facilitating the entry of hundreds of trucks transporting aid and fuel into the Strip
Israel has continued its brutal war and relentless attacks in the Gaza Strip, with overnight and early morning assaults, resulting in more than 28,000 deaths and over 68,000 injuries, most of whom are women and children.
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