Istanbul: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Venezuela’s acting President Delcy Rodriguez discussed bilateral relations and global developments during talks in Istanbul, Trkiye’s Communications Directorate said Monday.

According to Anadolu Agency, the directorate stated that Erdogan met with Rodriguez and her delegation, who are on a working visit to Trkiye. During the meeting, Erdogan emphasized that Trkiye will always stand by the friendly people of Venezuela and expressed Trkiye’s commitment to advancing cooperation with Venezuela in various sectors, particularly trade, energy, and mining.

The discussions also included steps to achieve a bilateral trade volume target of $3 billion between the two nations. Earlier in the day, Erdogan officially welcomed Rodriguez at the Presidential Dolmabahce Office with a formal ceremony. This was followed by bilateral and delegation-level talks between the two leaders.

Rodriguez’s visit to Trkiye is at the invitation of Erdogan. Key Turkish figures, including Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir, Trade Minister Omer Bolat, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran, and Akif Cagatay Kilic, the president’s chief adviser on foreign policy and security, were also present at the meeting.