Venezuela's Maduro describes his meeting with Turkish FM "excellent"

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has said his meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was "excellent" during Fidan's first visit to Venezuela since assuming the role of the country’s chief diplomat.

"With the sister nation of Türkiye, we are consolidating a strong friendship with a busy work agenda, concrete agreements, and tangible achievements that in action and practice are for the shared well-being of our peoples,” Maduro wrote on X on Saturday.

"We continue together on this path.”

The meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas was attended by Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil and Ankara’s Ambassador to Caracas, Aydan Karamanoglu.

One of Türkiye’s largest trade partners

The presidential press office said separately that the longstanding good relations between the two countries were highlighted, affirming the friendship between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Maduro and between Caracas and Ankara.

The visits follow this week's G20 foreign ministers meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which just concluded, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Bilateral relations, as well as regional and international developments, to be discussed during Hakan Fidan’s visits.

Venezuela is one of Türkiye’s largest trade partners in the Latin America region.

The bilateral trade grew to $850 million in 2021 from $150 million in 2019 and the two countries eyes to increase their current trade volume to $ 3 billion.