State Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin yesterday recounted his impressions of the work done in Sri Lanka following the tsunami to the Council of Ministers in Ankara.

The minister had recently returned from a ceremony in the region dedicating the new homes to the victims of the tsunami in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

Sahin said yesterday, "In particular, the Buddhist temple built by Turkey in Sri Lanka has attracted a lot of interest. In fact, Buddhist monks came to two mosques in Colombo to thank the imams there for Turkey's initiative."

Sahin reported that in both Sri Lanka and Indonesia, gratitude to Turkey for keeping its promises following the tsunami disaster was at an all time high.