Turkey's Ambassador to India Firat Sunel has thanked New Delhi for standing by Turkey in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in his country. Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, the envoy said Prime Minister Narendra Modi acted promptly and dispatched the relief teams. He also thanked India for being a friend in the&nbsp;trying times.&nbsp;

Full interview:

Sidhant Sibal: What is the current situation in your country?

Firat Sunel: I just want to make my first comment, this is not just one earthquake there were two huge earthquakes, magnitude 7 and 7.6 and followed by almost 300 aftershocks. So, the damage is very big, because almost 14 million people are impacted in 10 cities. The devastation is huge, let me tell some actual numbers.

The death toll is almost 3000, more than 15000 injured and 4700 buildings collapsed in the region. So some airports are already closed in the region but other airports in neighbouring the region are open and we use it for humanitarian help.

Sidhant Sibal: Your government must be overwhelmed, if you can talk about the measures taken by your government.&nbsp;

Firat Sunel: Yes, thinking of the extent of the devastation, the size of the region, it is not an easy task. Two huge earthquakes in the same day. There are 15000 search and rescue teams including our health teams. More than 5000 military personnel are there, so are some sanitary facility toilets, bathrooms, field hospitals, crisis management team.

They have been working without any interruption since the first earthquake. We also have some foreign search and rescue teams. There are about 2700, with rescue dogs, out 65 countries in which India is also included.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-dispatches-first-consignment-of-earthquake-relief-material-to-turkiye-559466">WATCH |&nbsp;India dispatches first consignment of earthquake relief material to Tur<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/india-dispatches-first-consignment-of-earthquake-relief-material-to-turkiye-559466">k</a>ey</a>

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Sidhant Sibal: How do you see Indian support in the aftermath of the earthquake?

Firat Sunel: We appreciate it. Yesterday I shared it on my Twitter account as well, we have common words in Hindi and Turkish. Dost means friend. In Turkish, there is a proverb, 'dost-dost kara günde belli olur', which means friend in need is a friend indeed. So the friends help each other when they are in need.&nbsp;You may recall, you were the first person to report about Turkey's medical aid in May 2021. During covid time Turkey sent two airplanes loaded with 45 tonnes of medical aid.

Now devastation is&nbsp;huge in Turkey&nbsp;and PM Narendra Modi gave immediate instructions to build a crisis centre and all relevant Indian authorities had a meeting yesterday. I was also there for cooperation, and this is an example of good friendship, and we really appreciate it so much.

India decided to send two planes, a search, and a rescue team. One of them left yesterday in the night-time and has arrived in the country two hours ago with 23 tonnes of equipment&nbsp;and more than 50 search rescue personnel. They are in the region and have&nbsp;started their activities.

In one hour, a second plane is also going to Turkey, this is also a big military aircraft. This is also a huge help for Turkey. We appreciate it very much. We appreciate not&nbsp;only the material help, but also for standing by Turkey.&nbsp;There are lot of messages from PM Modi to EAM Jaishankar.&nbsp;

Sidhant Sibal: It hasn't been very very easy for you as well, you had a sleepless night, coordinating here

Firat Sunel: Yes, you had the right expression, we had a sleepless night. We had to coordinate everything&nbsp;with relevant authorities in India and also in Turkey. Not only me, the whole embassy team as well as the Indian embassy in Turkey spent a sleepless night. They also chad to coordinate. I think we will have more sleepless nights to coordinate this.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE:&nbsp;

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Turkey's Ambassador to India Firat Sunel has thanked New Delhi for standing by Turkey in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in his country. Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, the envoy said Prime Minister Narendra Modi acted promptly and dispatched the relief teams.

Turkey's Ambassador to India Firat Sunel has thanked New Delhi for standing by Turkey in the aftermath of the deadly earthquake in his country. Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, the envoy said Prime Minister Narendra Modi acted promptly and dispatched the relief teams. He also thanked India for being a friend in the trying times. Full interview: Sidhant Sibal: What is the current situation in your country? Firat Sunel: I just want to make my first comment, this is not just one earthquake there were two huge earthquakes, magnitude 7 and 7.6 and followed by almost 300 aftershocks. So, the damage is very big, because almost 14 million people are impacted in 10 cities. The devastation is huge, let me tell some actual numbers. The death toll is almost 3000, more than 15000 injured and 4700 buildings collapsed in the region. So some airports are already closed in the region but other airports in neighbouring the region are open and we use it for humanitarian help. Sidhant Sibal: Your government must be overwhelmed, if you can talk about the measures taken by your government. Firat Sunel: Yes, thinking of the extent of the devastation, the size of the region, it is not an easy task. Two huge earthquakes in the same day. There are 15000 search and rescue teams including our health teams. More than 5000 military personnel are there, so are some sanitary facility toilets, bathrooms, field hospitals, crisis management team. They have been working without any interruption since the first earthquake. We also have some foreign search and rescue teams. There are about 2700, with rescue dogs, out 65 countries in which India is also included. WATCH | India dispatches first consignment of earthquake relief material to Turkey × Sidhant Sibal: How do you see Indian support in the aftermath of the earthquake? Firat Sunel: We appreciate it. Yesterday I shared it on my Twitter account as well, we have common words in Hindi and Turkish. Dost means friend. In Turkish, there is a proverb, 'dost-dost kara günde belli olur', which means friend in need is a friend indeed. So the friends help each other when they are in need. You may recall, you were the first person to report about Turkey's medical aid in May 2021. During covid time Turkey sent two airplanes loaded with 45 tonnes of medical aid. Now devastation is huge in Turkey and PM Narendra Modi gave immediate instructions to build a crisis centre and all relevant Indian authorities had a meeting yesterday. I was also there for cooperation, and this is an example of good friendship, and we really appreciate it so much. India decided to send two planes, a search, and a rescue team. One of them left yesterday in the night-time and has arrived in the country two hours ago with 23 tonnes of equipment and more than 50 search rescue personnel. They are in the region and have started their activities. In one hour, a second plane is also going to Turkey, this is also a big military aircraft. This is also a huge help for Turkey. We appreciate it very much. We appreciate not only the material help, but also for standing by Turkey. There are lot of messages from PM Modi to EAM Jaishankar. Sidhant Sibal: It hasn't been very very easy for you as well, you had a sleepless night, coordinating here Firat Sunel: Yes, you had the right expression, we had a sleepless night. We had to coordinate everything with relevant authorities in India and also in Turkey. Not only me, the whole embassy team as well as the Indian embassy in Turkey spent a sleepless night. They also chad to coordinate. I think we will have more sleepless nights to coordinate this. WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

'Example of good friendship', Turkish ambassador thanks India for support after the earthquake

The Turkish Ambassador to India, Firat Sunel, has said that the ties between India and Turkey go "back to Vedic ages" as he emphasised on promoting more economic engagement. His comments come as both the countries are celebrating 75 years of the establishment of their diplomatic relations.

Speaking at the celebration of ties in Delhi on Saturday, ambassador Sunel said, "Turkey and India share deep-rooted historical and cultural linkages. The aspect of economic and cultural relations between ancient India and Anatolia dates back to the Vedic ages. "

Turkey and India established formal diplomatic ties in 1948 even though both sides have engaged in the past. A pre-independent India had extended support to the Ottoman Empire after it was sanctioned following its defeat in World War One.

The ambassador, who is also a well-known author, explained, "India‘s rapid progress in different areas and ever-growing importance in the global economy and international politics since the 1990s has led Türkiye (Turkey) to develop a strategy that gives India high attention in the domain of South Asian politics."

Bilateral trade between India and Turkey grew to US$ 9.3 billion last year.

Noting the robust trade ties, the ambassador said, "Economic and commercial cooperation constitutes an important dimension of our relations. The trend in the first four months of this year indicates that we will easily exceed the 10-billion threshold in 2022."

As the Covid crisis abates, the focus will be on re-establishing people-to-people links, Sunel said, hoping that “more than 1 million Indian tourists visit Türkiye annually."

The Turkish Ambassador to India, Firat Sunel, has said that the ties between India and Turkey go "back to Vedic ages" as he emphasised on promoting more economic engagement.

The Turkish Ambassador to India, Firat Sunel, has said that the ties between India and Turkey go "back to Vedic ages" as he emphasised on promoting more economic engagement. His comments come as both the countries are celebrating 75 years of the establishment of their diplomatic relations. Speaking at the celebration of ties in Delhi on Saturday, ambassador Sunel said, "Turkey and India share deep-rooted historical and cultural linkages. The aspect of economic and cultural relations between ancient India and Anatolia dates back to the Vedic ages. " Turkey and India established formal diplomatic ties in 1948 even though both sides have engaged in the past. A pre-independent India had extended support to the Ottoman Empire after it was sanctioned following its defeat in World War One. The ambassador, who is also a well-known author, explained, "India‘s rapid progress in different areas and ever-growing importance in the global economy and international politics since the 1990s has led Türkiye (Turkey) to develop a strategy that gives India high attention in the domain of South Asian politics." Bilateral trade between India and Turkey grew to US$ 9.3 billion last year. Noting the robust trade ties, the ambassador said, "Economic and commercial cooperation constitutes an important dimension of our relations. The trend in the first four months of this year indicates that we will easily exceed the 10-billion threshold in 2022." As the Covid crisis abates, the focus will be on re-establishing people-to-people links, Sunel said, hoping that “more than 1 million Indian tourists visit Türkiye annually."

India-Turkey ties go back to Vedic ages, says Turkish envoy Firat Sunel

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'Example of good friendship', Turkish ambassador thanks India for support after the earthquake

India-Turkey ties go back to Vedic ages, says Turkish envoy Firat Sunel