By Sena Guler
ANKARA (AA) – Turkey’s efforts are for peace and stability in the Balkans, especially in Albania, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday.
“We work for peace, tranquility, stability and development of the Balkans, especially Albania,” Erdogan told the opening ceremony of the Turkey-Albania Fier Friendship Hospital via videoconference from the capital Ankara.
Highlighting Turkey’s support for Albania’s social and economic development as a requirement of the fraternity between the two countries, Erdogan said Ankara also stood by Tirana since the start of the pandemic.
He recalled Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s remarks following two powerful earthquakes in Albania in September and November 2019 – “Albania has plan A and B, as well as Turkey by its side.”
Erdogan said his country showed solidarity with the Albanian people by launching a housing project shortly after the natural disaster.
New housing units were constructed in Lac city after the devastating earthquake hit the Adriatic Sea nation in November 2019.
The houses were constructed by Turkey’s government-backed housing agency, TOKI.
The Turkish president said they hope to deliver the houses to their owners by August 2021.
– Turkey-Albania Fier Friendship Hospital
Recalling Rama’s visit to Turkey in January this year, Erdogan said the two countries carried ties of friendship and fraternity a step further and officially launched a strategic partnership.
“We also announced our decision to build a 150-bed hospital in three months,” he said, adding that the hospital was completed in less than three months and was equipped with state-of-the-art medical devices.
The hospital in the southwestern city of Fier cost €70 million (over $84 million), he said, adding that it is built on a 50,000-square-meter (538,196-square-foot) land with 17,425-square-meter (187,561-square-feet) closed area.
“With six operating rooms, six polyclinics, 20 intensive care units, and 130 service beds, it was made ready for the service of our Albanian brothers and sisters,” he said.
A total of 387 health personnel, including 56 Turkish, will serve in 23 key branches at the hospital, Erdogan said.
