This photo, provided by the presidential office on Aug. 2, 2023, shows Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (R) shaking hands with a South Korean emergency relief team member.
SEOUL, Aug. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed his gratitude to a South Korean emergency firefighting team dispatched a month ago to assist the North American nation in dealing with raging wildfires.
The Korea Disaster Relief Team, comprised of 152 workers, including firefighters, emergency workers and medical personnel, was sent to Lebel-sur-Quevillon, Quebec Province, on July 2 to join international fire authorities.
Trudeau conveyed his appreciation in a video message posted on his Twitter account Tuesday (local time), where he was shown on a plane alongside the South Korean team, awaiting their departure from Ottawa to return home.
“So I just want to say thank you so much for being away from your families for these past weeks, for coming to this other side of the world, to be there to help our communities and our people,” he said.
“We will never forget it. Thank you for being there.”
In response, President Yoon Suk Yeol retweeted Trudeau’s post and expressed his gratitude for Trudeau’s unexpected visit to the plane to greet the team on their way back home.
“The relief activities have marked a new turning point in the friendly relations between South Korea and Canada,” Yoon said.
Canada has been facing an ongoing and record-setting series of wildfires this year, resulting in an unprecedented 10 million hectares of land being burned.
(Yonhap)
