Türkiye, Venezuela keen to take bilateral ties to 'next level': President Erdogan

By Merve Berker, Beyza Binnur Donmez and Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) – Türkiye will keep making efforts to enhance bilateral relations with Venezuela, the Turkish president said on Wednesday.

Addressing a joint press conference after talks with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro in the capital Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan asserted that Türkiye has “always supported Venezuela and will continue to do so in the future.”

Both sides, he said, have the will to take bilateral relations to “the next level.”

There are many areas in which Türkiye and Venezuela can increase collaboration, including trade, energy, mining, construction, health and tourism, he emphasized.

“Our trade volume with Venezuela was about $150 million in 2019. We doubled it by 2020 and took it up to $850 million in 2021,” he said, adding that Türkiye’s aim is to boost the figure to $3 billion in the near future.

As part of continuing efforts to improve bilateral ties, Erdogan said a Turkish government delegation will be heading to Venezuela next month.

Maduro lauded Türkiye’s growing global influence, saying the country plays a “very important” geopolitical role in the world.

The two leaders also oversaw the signing of three tourism, agriculture and economic agreements before the joint press conference.