ANKARA (ZAMAN) - Turkey provided US$145.7 million in official support to various countries in 2003, down from US$157.7 million in 2002. Contributions to some countries, including Ghana, was totally cut off. The State Institute of Statistics (DIE) conducted research to detail how Turkey disbursed its foreign aid.

According to the research, the US$145.76 million in official support could be further broken down into US$38.7 million in official aid, US$40.2 million in official donations to foreign countries and US$66.8 million in payments to various international organizations in 2003.

While Turkish aid to Palestine dropped 23 times, from US$115,000 to US$5,000 when compared to the previous year, support to Israel increased 39 fold, from US$592 to US$19,500 in 2003.

The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) also received less aid from Turkey. The figure was US$1.9 million in 2003 while it was US$8.4 million in 2002.

In addition, contributions to some countries were totally cut off. Armenia, Algeria, Ghana, Guinea are among those.