H.E. Ambassador Raul S. Hernandez receives 10,000 face masks from Turkish businessman, Mr. Ilkem Şahin at a ceremony in the Philippine Embassy in Ankara

The Philippine Embassy in Ankara, Turkey facilitated the donation of almost 80,000 face masks from Turkish businessman, Mr. Ilkem Şahin. Mr. Şahin made an initial donation of nearly 70,000 units of face masks to the Philippines to help mitigate the adverse impacts of COVID-19 in the country. The face masks arrived in Manila on 22 September 2020 and will be delivered to the Philippine Department of Health after completion of internal procedures.

Mr. Şahin also donated 10,000 units of face masks to the Philippine Embassy in Turkey, which the Embassy will share with Filipinos in Turkey through the Philippine Consulates General in Istanbul, Izmir and Mersin. The donation of face masks was discussed between H.E. Raul S. Hernandez, Ambassador of the Republic of the Philippines to Turkey and Mr. Şahin at a working dinner in July.

Mr. Şahin is the Chairman of the Turkey-Philippines Business Council under the Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEIK) of Turkey and has sent several trade and investment missions to the Philippines since his appointment in 2018. He led the Turkish business delegation at the inaugural Philippines-Turkey Joint Committee for Economic and Technical Cooperation in 2018 and continues to pursue initiatives in the fields of mass housing, energy, agriculture and film development in the Philippines. In addition to his official capacity in promoting trade and investment linkages between the two countries, Mr. Şahin feels a special affinity for the Philippines and its people and his donation comes as an act of goodwill and generosity.