Turkish president arrives in Venezuela for talks

By Enes Kaplan

CARACAS, Venezuela (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived in the Venezuelan capital Caracas on late Sunday as part of his official tour to Latin America.

Erdogan arrived in Caracas at 9.40 p.m. local time (0140GMT Monday).

The president and the first lady Emine Erdogan were welcomed by Venezuela’s Vice-President Delcy Rodriguez, Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino.

Turkey's ambassador to Caracas Sevki Mutevellioglu and Venezuela’s ambassador to Ankara Jose Bracho Reyes were also present at the Simon Bolivar International Airport to meet the them.

Erdogan was accompanied by Turkey's Energy Minister Fatih Donmez, Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan.

As part of his visit, Erdogan is scheduled to attend Turkey-Venezuela Business Forum along with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro. The two leaders will also hold a joint news conference after signing several deals.

Erdogan’s visit came after he attended the G20 summit in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires on Friday and Saturday.

The Turkish president met eight heads of state and government on the sidelines of the two-day summit.

On Sunday, Erdogan paid a visit to Paraguay, as well.