Today, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Heraldo Muñoz, received the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at the Arturo Merino Benitez airport in Santiago, who began an official visit to our country in order to strengthen bilateral relations.
The Turkish president arrived in Chile accompanied by a large delegation composed of several ministers and more than a hundred entrepreneurs. Tomorrow, he will be received by President Michelle Bachelet at La Moneda Palace. Later, he will attend a business seminar at SOFOFA and give a lecture at ECLAC, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.
After the arrival of the Turkish president, Foreign Minister Muñoz stressed that his presence in our country "is very important because the two countries have very strong political, economic and cultural ties."
Minister Muñoz recalled that Chile and Turkey signed a free trade agreement which came into force in 2011 and has allowed bilateral trade to increase from US$ 350 million to almost US$ 700 million, which in turn has meant job creation and prosperity in both countries.
Secretary of State Muñoz also said that there are interesting issues in world politics that make Turkey a key player. "For Chile, it is very important that President Erdoğan is in our country to better understand the refugee crisis and the situation in the Middle East. There will certainly be an opportunity to talk with the President of the Republic on these matters," he said.
Foreign Minister Muñoz also highlighted the phenomenon of Turkish soap operas as an element of cultural rapprochement between the two peoples. "They are hugely popular in our country. Chile is a platform for export of these soap operas to Latin America," he added.
The visit of the Turkish president is part of the celebrations of the 90th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the countries. Chile was the first Latin American country to recognize the Republic of Turkey on January 26, 1926 and the first to install a resident embassy in Ankara. In this regard, the Foreign Minister said that this anniversary "will be celebrated accordingly, with activities during visit this as well as afterward."