00:00 Welcome back to From the South. On Friday, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro met with
00:04 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to expand and strengthen cooperation through 40 bilateral
00:10 agreements. The meeting took place at the Miraflores Palace in the city of Caracas,
00:14 where issues of mutual interest and benefits were discussed. Venezuela and Turkey have entertained
00:20 diplomatic relations since 1957, reaching a high point in 2009 with the setup of a joint
00:28 cooperation commission. Last January, there was another meeting between the Venezuelan President
00:33 and the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparzan Bayraktar.
00:39 We have seen trade cooperation between Turkey and Venezuela grow. The exchange,
00:53 the import and export of products between the two countries is becoming more and more important.
00:59 Venezuela has become an important supplier of petrochemicals for Turkey. Just a week ago,
01:05 we had the visit of the Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister,
01:09 and together we are planning to develop the entire Venezuelan energy sector.
01:14 In this context, he will reaffirm Venezuela's commitment with the broadening of mutual
01:21 cooperation. We are currently committed to explore opportunities in mining to expand
01:30 cooperation in telecommunications. You know, Venezuela and Turkey have a very efficient
01:35 air connection with eight weekly flights by Turkish airlines, and we are certain that air
01:41 connection will expand in the coming months with more passenger and cargo flights.
01:47 On his part, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said both countries entertain good relations,
01:53 especially in the areas of trade, mining and energy.
01:55 As you know, relations between Turkey and Venezuela are improving more and more,
02:11 especially economic relations in trade, mining, energy, agriculture and tourism.
02:18 We have a great potential.
02:19 The Turkish Foreign Minister said that the presidents of both Venezuela and Turkey
02:26 have agreed to increase bilateral trade.
02:28 We have reached a turnover of $800 billion, but this year we want to increase it to $3 billion,
02:38 as requested by our leaders.
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