In 1847, one of the bleakest years of the Irish famine, Khaleefah Abdul-Majid I, Sultan of an Ottoman Empire offered £10,000 (which was quite a sum at the time) to help alleviate the suffering of the Irish people.
Queen Victoria, upon learning of this, requested that he reduce his donation to a more modest £1,000, so as not to embarrass her own relatively meagre offering of £2,000. Reluctantly, the Sultan agreed, but bolstered his contribution by secretly sending five ships loaded with food.
Queen Victoria, upon learning of this, requested that he reduce his donation to a more modest £1,000, so as not to embarrass her own relatively meagre offering of £2,000. Reluctantly, the Sultan agreed, but bolstered his contribution by secretly sending five ships loaded with food.
https://www.quora.com/Why-did-Britain-refuse-Ottomans-aid-to...
My conclusion is that the famine was as much political as it was environmental. (as they often are)