SANTIAGO – On Saturday, the fire department of the suburban Quilicura district of Chilean capital Santiago held a ceremony to thank the Turkish government for their “generous donation” and hail their country’s friendship with Turkey.
Quilicura was provided with 35 firefighter vests and a fire truck following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s pledge during his visit in January 2016.
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The Quilicura Fire Department, which changed its name to the Turkish-Chilean Friendship Fire Department of Quilicura after the Turkish donation, celebrated the alliance between the two countries, expressing their gratitude for the donation.
Turkish Ambassador to Chile Naciye Gökçen Kaya partook in the ceremony and stressed that it “was a very significant day for Chile and for Turkey, and it is once again the excellent example of the friendship that exists between our countries and unite these friendly peoples.”
The first Captain of the Turkish-Chilean Friendship Fire Department, Roberto Alvarez, conveyed the gratitude of Chilean people. “We would like to extend our gratitude to the Turkish government for their generous donation. Many lives have been saved thanks to the equipment you provided,” Alvarez said.
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The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) is set to train 10 Chilean firefighters in the upcoming months in Ankara.
This year in January, at least 11 people were killed and several thousand left homeless by deadly forest fires in southern and central Chile, which have raged across large sections of the country for nearly two weeks.
