Foreign reactions and offers of aid in response to Morocco earthquake

[September 09, 2023]  (Reuters) - Following are reactions and offers of aid from foreign governments to the powerful earthquake that struck Morocco late on Friday, killing hundreds and destroying buildings in the deadliest tremor to hit the country in decades.

* REACTIONS

INDIAN PRIME MINISTER NARENDRA MODI, INAUGURATING A G20 SUMMIT IN NEW DELHI

"We pray that all the injured people get well soon. The entire world community is with Morocco in this difficult time and we are ready to provide them all possible assistance."

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN IN A MESSAGE TO MOROCCO'S KING MOHAMMED VI

"Please convey words of sympathy and support to the families and friends of the victims, as well as wishes for a speedy recovery to all those who have suffered as a result of this natural disaster."

TURKISH PRESIDENT TAYYIP ERDOGAN

"We stand by our Moroccan brothers with all our means in this difficult day."

ALGERIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY

"Algeria expresses its sincere condolences to the Moroccan people's brothers in the earthquake victims," the ministry was quoted as saying on the state TV's Facebook page. "

"Algeria follows with great grief the consequences of the violent earthquake that hit several regions in the Kingdom of Morocco."

GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER ANNALENA BAERBOCK

"Awful images are reaching us from Morocco. Together with the people of Morocco, we mourn the victims of the terrible earthquake. Our thoughts are with them and all those who are searching for those buried in these hours and fighting for the lives of the many injured."

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

"We are all shocked after the terrible earthquake in Morocco. France stands ready to help first aid responses."

SPAIN'S ACTING PRIME MINISTER PEDRO SANCHEZ

"All my solidarity with the people of Morocco in the face of the terrible earthquake ... Spain stands with the victims of this tragedy and their families."

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its sincere condolences to the government and people of Morocco, and to the families of the victims of this tragedy, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured.

SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER ULF KRISTERSSON

"Devastating earthquake in Morocco last night. Our thoughts are with the victims and their loved ones."

IRAQI PRIME MINISTER MOHAMMED SHIA AL-SUDANI

His office said in a statement the prime minister offered his condolences to the Moroccan government and people and said Iraq was ready to provide all forms of assistance.

ITALIAN PRIME MINISTER GIORGIA MELONI

"PM @GiorgiaMeloni has learned with sorrow the tragic toll of the devastating earthquake that struck Morocco and expressed closeness and solidarity with Prime Minister Akhannouch and the Moroccan people, expressing Italy's full readiness in this emergency," Meloni's office said.

*OFFERS OF FOREIGN AID

TURKEY

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Ankara was ready to provide all kinds of support "to heal the wounds of the earthquake in Morocco".

FRANCE

"France ... is ready to provide immediately its help for the rescue and assistance to the populations affected by this tragedy," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi gestures during a joint press conference with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis at the Maximos Mansion in Athens, Greece, August 25, 2023. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas

Valerie Pecresse, president of the Paris region, said on X it was offering 500,000 euros ($535,000)in aid for Morocco.

Benoit Payan, the mayor of Marseille, said firemen will be sent to help rescue crews in Morocco, adding that Marrakech is Marseille's "sister city".

SPAIN

"The Spain military emergency unit and our embassy and consulates are at the disposal of Morocco," Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said at the G20 meeting in New Delhi.

Antonio Nogales, president of Spain's Firefighters Without Frontiers, told RTVE Spanish television: "We are in contact with the Moroccan authorities and we are ready to go and help." The organization was involved in helping find survivors of the earthquake in Turkey in February.

ISRAEL

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said “Israel is extending its hand to Morocco in this difficult time that it is experiencing, and as soon as we learned of the news of the earthquake that struck Morocco, we immediately offered its government to provide humanitarian aid and contribute to rescuing the victims". The ministry said this in a post on X, originally in Arabic.

TUNISIA

The Tunisian presidency said President Kais Saied had

"authorized coordination with the Moroccan authorities to direct urgent aid and send civil protection teams to support the Kingdom’s search and rescue efforts. He also authorized the facilitation of a delegation from the Tunisian Red Crescent to contribute to relief operations and surround the injured."

ROMANIA

Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said "the Romanian authorities are in close contact with the Moroccan authorities and ready to offer assistance".

TAIWAN

Taiwan’s fire department said it had put a team of 120 rescuers on standby to go to Morocco who can go the moment they get instructions from Taiwan’s foreign ministry.

* ASSISTANCE TO FOREIGN NATIONALS

FRANCE

The French Foreign Ministry said its embassy in Morocco and the ministry in Paris have opened crisis centres "to respond to demands for information or help from our compatriots."

GERMANY

The German embassy in Rabat has set up an emergency number for Germans affected by the earthquake and is in close contact with local authorities, a German foreign ministry spokesperson said, without providing further details.

ISRAEL

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was identifying the locations of its citizens now present in Morocco, "communicating with them and checking on them."

RUSSIA

"The Russian Embassy in Rabat and the Consulate General in Casablanca are in constant contact with the Moroccan authorities. According to our diplomats, there are no Russian citizens among the victims of the earthquake," Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

($1 = 0.9347 euros)

(Compiled by Tomasz Janowski with contributions from Reuters bureaus; Editing by Frances Kerry)

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