TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has asked its representative office in Jordan to approach non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in an effort to supply relief aid to earthquake victims in Syria, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday (Feb. 9).

Following the deaths of more than 15,000 people in the massive magnitude 7.8 earthquake, Taiwan has sent 130 rescue workers and donated funds and goods to Turkey.

Even though the country is not an official diplomatic ally, Turkey and Taiwan operate representative offices in each other’s countries. Syria, however, has no communication channels with Taiwan.

MOFA said Thursday it would contact other countries and tell its office in the Jordanian capital Amman to reach out to NGOs in order to find ways to assist earthquake victims in Syria, the Liberty Times reported. The civil war in the Middle Eastern country has made it difficult to send rescue teams and supply goods, as different groups control various regions.

Both President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) visited the Turkish office in Taipei Thursday to express their condolences for the victims and leave messages of support.