Venezuela & Turkey To Strengthen Their Trade Cooperation

On Monday, Venezuela's Foreign Affairs Minister Felix Plasencia and his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu denounced the U.S. economic sanctions against their countries in a bilateral meeting held in New York.

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Both chancellors reiterated their position in defense of the respect for the sovereignty and the self-determination of all peoples. They also stressed the success of the 6th CELAC Summit in Mexico City, where President Nicolas Maduro confirmed Venezuela’s historic commitment to integration, cooperation, and solidarity among Latin American countries.

Cavusoglu welcomed the dialogue process between the Bolivarian government and the opposition, stressing that the United States keeps thousands of Venezuelan assets frozen in banks outside this country.

Plasencia also accompanied President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to the inauguration of the Turkish House, the new headquarters of this country's diplomatic mission to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

The Venezuelan chancellor spoke with the Turkish Trade Minister Mehmet Mus, with whom he addressed the need to increase bilateral relations. Turkey offered political and commercial support to the Bolivarian government amidst the U.S. blockade, which caused a 69 percent drop in imports from 2015 to 2019.

Erdogan and Maduro signed a series of agreements for trade cooperation and investment in security in 2017. Thanks to these agreements, trade between the two countries reached US$892 million in the first five months of 2018, with an emphasis on the export of products such as construction materials, medicines, and iron or steel products.

"With our cooperation agreements, we also strengthen our bonds of friendship," Maduro assured during Erdogan’s last visit to Venezuela.