Bolivia set to open embassy in Turkey amid growing ties

By Mumin Altas

CARACAS (AA) – Bolivia plans to open an embassy in Turkey to cement bilateral relations, Turkish presidential sources said late Wednesday.

The agreement on opening the embassy was reached at a meeting between Turkish Vice President Fuat Oktay and Bolivian President Juan Evo Morales Ayma in the Venezuelan capital Caracas.

During the meeting, they acknowledged that significant progress had been made in their countries’ relations after Turkey opened an embassy in Bolivia last year.

The two countries agreed that the Bolivian embassy should be opened in the first half of this year.

Both Oktay and Morales emphasized that cooperation between Turkey and Bolivia should be increased, especially in the area of defense.

Separately, Morales said Bolivia fully supports Turkey in its fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), the terror group behind the July 2016 defeated coup.

FETO and Fetullah Gulen, the U.S.-based leader of the terror group, orchestrated the defeated coup in Turkey of July 15, 2016 which left 251 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured.

Ankara also accuses FETO of being behind a long-running campaign to overthrow the state through the infiltration of Turkish institutions, particularly the military, police and judiciary.

In addition, Oktay presented Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's invitation message to Morales to visit Turkey.

Oktay arrived in Venezuela’s capital late Wednesday to attend President Nicolas Maduro’s inauguration ceremony.