UPDATE - Top Turkish diplomat urges businesses to invest in Venezuela

UPDATE WITH VENEZUELAN PRESIDENT’S REMARKS

By Sinan Dogan and Muhammed Emin Canik

CARACAS, Venezuela (AA) – Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday called on Turkish businesses to make investments in the South American country of Venezuela.

Speaking at the opening session of the third meeting of the Venezuela-Turkey Joint Cooperation Commission, Cavusoglu said that he evaluated the trade relations between the two countries with the Venezuelan Vice-President Tareck El Aissami.

He said that they discussed a wide range of relations during the meeting in presence of the ministers of tourism, health, education, and fisheries.

"Our friends are making great efforts to make these meetings and mechanisms successful,” he added.

Stating that they continue to work in line with the opinions received from experts on issues such as transportation, tourism, development, agriculture, migration, and security, the top Turkish diplomat said that they have completed negotiations on agreements in the fields of industry, tourism, fisheries, youth, and sports.

The agreements will be signed in the presence of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro at the closing session, said Cavusoglu.

“The increase in our trade has increased our hopes for the future. We encourage Turkish businesspeople to invest in Venezuela,” he said.

Aissami thanked Cavusoglu for his visit.

“We make productive, prosperous, mutual investments for our peoples,” he said.

“Turkey struggles to protect and defend world peace. It encourages us to work together in building a more just world,” said the Venezuelan vice-president.

-Maduro hails Turkish government

Speaking at the closing session, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro hailed the Turkish government for facilitating talks between Russia and Ukraine and wished success in the process.

He said that Turkiye has helped Venezuela when it needed the most, referring to the medical aid extended by Turkiye during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We have established very strong political and diplomatic relations based on trust in the recent years between Turkiye and Venezuela,” said Maduro adding Turkiye opposed the sanctions against his country.

He also called on Turkish investors to come to Venezuela.

“Venezuela has now started to recover; it is now advancing step by step with its efforts. Let Turkish investors come here and invest because we have a very wide economic portfolio. It's time for the Turks to invest here,” he said.

He said he will visit Turkiye soon.

“I think we maximized this joint commission. We have signed many agreements in various fields. I will go to Turkey to address all these issues, to accelerate cooperation, and to shake the hand of my dear friend Erdogan,” he added.

"We love Turkiye. We are real friends of Turkiye. Venezuela is Turkiye's best friend. Long live Venezuela-Turkiye relationship, long live friendship, long live peace, long live cooperation,” he said.