Turkish humanitarian aid volume jumps in one year

Turkey’s international aid has reached a total volume of $967 million, increasing by 23.8 percent since last year and surpassing many European countries, according to a recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, or OECD. Leading experts agree that Turkish international aid is correlated with its new escalating role in global politics and economics.

Turkey contributed $967 million in aid while the total aid from all donor countries totaled $129 billion in 2010, according to the report prepared by OECD’s Development Assistance Committee, or DAC. Turkey has exceeded the average growth of 6.5 percent of DAC member countries by 23.8 percent.

European Union members of the DAC provided a total of $70.2 billion, and Turkey outpaced Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Poland, Hungary and Luxembourg, according to DAC figures.

“Turkey’s contribution to international aid has a lot to do with its increasing role in global economics and politics,” said Veysel Ayhan, advisor at the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies, or ORSAM.

Source: here