Date: 25 October 2011

After the violent earthquake in the Van province in eastern Turkey, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Steven Vanackere communicated the following condolences to his Turkish counterpart, Mr Ahmet Davutoğlu:

“Deeply touched by the tragic outcome of the earthquake that struck the Van province on Sunday, 23 October, I would very much like to offer, on behalf of the Belgian Government and myself personally, condolences in the face of this disaster.

Please allow me to express my sympathies to the affected families and offer them my sincerest condolences.

Belgium remains available to aid Turkey where this is considered useful, including the deployment of B-FAST.”