Uzbekistan opens residential complex in Turkey’s Hatay, launches first overseas school in Istanbul

The events took place during President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s official visit to Ankara, where he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony of the “Uzbekistan” residential complex in Hatay. The project was built by Uzbekistan as part of its humanitarian assistance following the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey three years ago.

Speaking at the ceremony, President Mirziyoyev recalled that the earthquake was a severe test for the brotherly Turkish people and stressed that Uzbekistan had stood by Turkey from the earliest days of the disaster. Within a short period, Uzbekistan dispatched 100 rescue workers and 70 medical personnel to the affected areas. During search-and-rescue operations, 18 people were pulled alive from the rubble, nearly 200 victims were recovered, and more than 4,000 patients received medical treatment at a field hospital established by Uzbek specialists.

President Erdoğan noted that, under Turkey’s large-scale post-earthquake recovery programs, more than 455,000 housing units have been completed nationwide to date. Within this broader effort, Uzbekistan fulfilled its commitments by constructing a modern residential complex in Hatay’s Arsuz district. The complex comprises 24 multi-storey buildings with more than 300 fully furnished apartments, alongside all essential infrastructure.

The Turkish president stressed that the complex represents not only a new home for families affected by the earthquake, but also a vivid symbol of the enduring friendship and brotherhood between the Uzbek and Turkish peoples. Both leaders expressed gratitude to the builders, engineers, workers and partner organizations involved in the project, before ceremonially handing over the keys to the new homeowners.

As part of the visit, Presidents Mirziyoyev and Erdoğan also officially launched construction of an Uzbek school in Istanbul’s Bakırköy district. The institution will become Uzbekistan’s first educational facility abroad.

According to officials, the school will provide children of Uzbek families living in Turkey with the opportunity to study in their mother tongue while preserving national values, culture and traditions. The two sides expressed confidence that the school would further strengthen ties between the two brotherly nations and serve as an important educational and cultural center for the younger generation.