By Mehmet Sah Yilmaz
ANKARA/CARACAS, Venezuela (AA) - Venezuela has an “extremely important place” in Türkiye’s policies regarding the region, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Saturday.
"There are many issues on which we have a common stance with Venezuela, especially on regional issues and international issues. The most important of these is the Palestine issue,” Fidan said at a news conference with his Venezuelan counterpart, Yvan Gil, in the capital of Caracas.
Fidan thanked Venezuela for its stance against the “ongoing injustice, oppression, lawlessness, double standards, and rottenness of the international system,” especially in Palestine.
"As the number of countries in this position increases, the pressure that will really arise will be greater and hopefully we will be able to prevent this oppression together,” he added.
Fidan continued his Latin American tour in Venezuela, where he was received by President Nicolas Maduro.
"We had the opportunity to confirm the mutual will to advance the strategic relationship between the two countries in every field," he said.
Noting that Türkiye and Venezuela have maintained a “very productive and improving relationship” at all levels, he said there is great potential in the economy, trade, mining, energy, agriculture and tourism.
"We frankly expect our trade volume between the two countries, which was around $800 million as of last year, to reach the $3 billion target set by our leaders this year,” he said.
Fidan added that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is planning to visit Venezuela this year.