A new collaborative mechanism against natural disasters is in the sights of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Türkiye
The eight nations, known collectively as the Developing-8 or D-8, aim to bolster their disaster assistance capabilities to meet the needs of each member in the case of an emergency situation, the organization's secretary-general, Isiaka Abdulkadir Imam, told Anadolu.
Expressing his condolences for the back-to-back earthquakes in February that devasted southern Türkiye and parts of Syria, Imam told Anadolu that all members had their own relief agencies but that the D-8 was trying to create a joint platform.
Nobody wishes for natural disasters to occur, "but when they happen, we should have a collaborative approach," he said. In February, the 7.6 and 7.7 magnitude earthquakes hit 11 provinces in Türkiye, causing over 55,000 deaths and affecting more than 13.5 million people.
Dozens of foreign relief and rescue teams came to Türkiye's aid to help manage the disaster and its effects.
"This tool could meet aid assistance (needs) of the government of any member state if that sort of thing happens again," he underlined.
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