Turkish foreign minister attends 5th Türkiye-CELAC Quartet Meeting in New York

By Muhammet Tarhan

NEW YORK (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Friday attended the 5th Türkiye-Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) Quartet Foreign Ministers Meeting in New York, which was held on the sidelines of the 79th UN General Assembly.

The discussions focused on elements from the Joint Declaration issued following the 4th meeting in Istanbul on April 21, 2017, as well as current global challenges, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

CELAC was founded in December 2011 to enhance regional integration and includes all Latin American and Caribbean nations.

The organization holds meetings in a CELAC Quartet format with countries that have established bilateral cooperation mechanisms.

Türkiye attaches significant importance to its cooperation with regional organizations as part of its outreach policy toward Latin America and the Caribbean.

Within this scope, Türkiye-CELAC Quartet Foreign Ministers' Meetings have been held since 2013, with the first three meetings taking place during UN General Assembly sessions in 2013, 2015, and 2016.

The 4th meeting, held in Istanbul on April 21, 2017, culminated in the establishment of a "Political Dialogue and Permanent Cooperation Mechanism" between Türkiye and CELAC, as stated in the Joint Declaration issued at the time.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul