The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) on Tuesday announced AFN 15 million (approx. $166,000 USD) in humanitarian aid for people affected by recent earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.

Of the total, AFN 10 million (approx. $111,000) will be for Turkey, and AFN 5 million (approx. $55,000) will be for Syria.

The Foreign Ministry in a statement said that IEA stands in solidarity with its brothers and sisters in this time of hardship.

It added that the aid is on the basis of “shared humanity and Islamic brotherhood.”

The statement also said that IEA emergency response and health teams stand ready to participate in rescue operations to assist the affected people if called upon.

The ministry instructed its diplomatic mission in Turkey to not spare any efforts in assisting the victims, and urged Turkey-based Afghan citizens to help with the relief efforts.

Thousands have been killed in Monday’s earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced a three-month state of emergency across 10 provinces worst affected by the earthquakes.

The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani has left the country for Russia to attend a summit that will focus on the political, economic and security situation in Afghanistan.

Shamkhani will join top security officials from Central Asian countries, Pakistan, India and China for a meeting planned for Wednesday in the Russian capital Moscow as part of the fifth round of the multilateral talks on Afghanistan.

The previous edition of the conference had been held in Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe in May 2022.

Indian capital of New Delhi had hosted the third round of the initiative in 2021 two years after it was launched in Tehran.

Shamkhani is also scheduled to hold meetings with his counterparts from other countries, including Russia’s top security official.

The UN warned all its member states that 70% of the people in Afghanistan are facing extreme hunger and need aid, while six million are facing the risk of famine.

Martin Griffiths, the UN humanitarian chief, said to the UN Security Council that Afghanistan faces multiple humanitarian, economic, climate, hunger and financial crises and urged donors to restore funding for development in Afghanistan.

He asked the donors for about $770 million to help Afghans survive the coming cold months.

He meanwhile added that Afghanistan is facing a critical situation due to the halt to large-scale development aid.

This is the second time that the United Nations has been warning of an emergency level of food insecurity amid a shortage of sufficient humanitarian aid due to a lack of funding.

Last year in November, the UN warned the member states about Afghanistan’s humanitarian crises and food shortage.