No Monroe Doctrine for NATO states: Turkey expands role in South America

30/04/2022

Britain, France and the Netherlands continue to own possessions in the Americas.

Daily Sabah
April 27, 2022

Touting Turkey’s growing ties with Latin America while on a regional tour, the country’s top diplomat on Wednesday underlined the importance Turkey places on such relations, including with Colombia.

Speaking at a press conference alongside his Colombian counterpart Marta Lucia Ramirez in the capital Bogota, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said: “The fact that we did not cancel this visit, which was planned prior to the Ukraine war, despite the many problems in our region, is a mark of the importance we place on this region.”

Mentioning Ramirez’s visit to the Turkish capital Ankara earlier this month, Çavuşoğlu said: “My visit here less than a month later shows the momentum we have achieved in our relations.”

Turkey is pleased to welcome Colombian President Ivan Duque in May, Çavuşoğlu said, adding that he will discuss preparations for the visit with his counterpart.

***

Noting that over the last 20 years, Turkey has boosted the number of its embassies in Latin American countries from six to 18, Çavuşoğlu said Ankara will open an embassy in San Salvador, El Salvador very soon.

***

On Tuesday, during the foreign minister’s trip to Ecuador, where he met with his Ecuadorian counterpart Juan Carlos Holguin in the capital Quito, Turkey and Ecuador signed agreements in various fields to boost bilateral ties….

In an article published on Tuesday in the online journal Nota Diplomatica Ecuador, the Turkish diplomat said his visit to Quito is of special importance as it marks the very first official visit by a Turkish foreign minister.