UPDATE - Turkiye wants to further develop relations with Uruguay: Foreign minister

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS BY TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTER, OPENING OF TURKISH EMBASSY IN MONTEVIDEO

By Gozde Bayar and Muhammed Emin Canik

ANKARA / BUENOS AIRES (AA) - Turkiye wants to further develop bilateral relations with Uruguay, the Turkish foreign minister said on Saturday.

“I am extremely pleased with the distance we have covered in our relations and the momentum we have achieved in the last year,” Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a joint news conference with his Uruguayan counterpart Francisco Bustillo in Montevideo.

“We just signed two important agreements. We believe that we can increase our bilateral trade volume even more.

“Even without this agreement, our bilateral trade volume increased by 30% despite the pandemic,” Cavusoglu said.

After signing the free trade agreement, the bilateral trade volume and economic cooperation will reach much higher levels, he added.

Cavusoglu went on to say that they want to further develop relations in many fields, especially in agriculture, health, education, defense industry, and tourism.

He also said that Turkiye is looking forward to the opening of Uruguay’s embassy in Ankara.

For his part, Bustillo said they are pleased to welcome his Turkish counterpart in Montevideo.

“We have just signed the agreement for the reciprocal promotion and protection of investments,” he said, adding that they discussed developing a “fantastic relationship” and increasing trade volume.

- Cavusoglu opens Turkish Embassy in Montevideo

Cavusoglu’s official visit to Uruguay constitutes the first official visit at the level of foreign minister. He also inaugurated the Turkish Embassy in Montevideo.

“Latin America is strategic opening geography for us. We have increased the number of embassies in the region from six to 17 in the last 20 years,” he said, adding that the number of embassies of Latin American countries in Ankara have also increased from six to 16 in the same period.

With the opening of new embassies, mutual trade and cooperation in all fields will increase, he said, adding that two ministers exchanged views on Turkish Airlines’ flight plan to Montevideo.

Despite the physical distance between the countries, Turkiye has a cultural closeness with Uruguay, Cavusoglu said. “It is not a coincidence that Turkish TV series are very popular in Latin America, including Uruguay," he added.

Regarding Turkiye's efforts for peace, he said crises in the region cannot distract his country from achieving its global goals.

“With this understanding, we are visiting Latin America to build the future together. If we work together, we can take our relations with all Latin American countries, especially Uruguay, to a much further point,” he added.