Turkey two times increases financial aid to needy states

In 2012, Turkey increased its financial assistance to countries in need by 98 percent in comparison with the previous year, the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag said, the newspaper Zaman wrote on Tuesday.

According to the publication, last year Turkey allocated $2.5 billion for the countries in need.

Bozdag said that African countries hold first place among the countries that receive aid from Turkey. These countries have been granted financial assistance worth $772 million.

"These numbers reflect only the amount of financial aid provided by Turkey to countries in need without taking into consideration the private sector," the Deputy Prime Minister said.

Bozdag also said that in the future Turkey intends to increase its financial aid to countries in need, irrespective of their religious or ethnic affiliations.


/Trend/