Turkey’s top diplomat inaugurates college in Venezuela

Turkey's foreign minister inaugurated the Turkish Maarif Foundation's San Roman College in the Venezuelan capital Thursday.

Speaking at the ceremony in Caracas, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said Venezuela is the last stop of his Latin America tour and he is happy to be there.

"We believe that the schools we open will make significant contributions to the future of Venezuela," said Çavuşoğlu and wished good luck to all teachers and students there.

"We are proud of our Maarif Foundation because it flies our flag, language and culture everywhere," he added.

"We believe that the number of schools and students will increase rapidly in the upcoming period. We have full confidence in our Venezuelan friends in this regard," Çavuşoğlu said, noting that the Maarif Foundation has become one of the top five institutions in the world in a short time.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Felix Plasencia expressed his gratitude to host Çavuşoğlu.

"My dear friend Çavuşoğlu traveled all over Latin America until he came here, and I really thank him very much," he said.

Plasencia also thanked the Maarif Foundation for its contributions to education, saying "the noble and solid structure we are in is an indication of our friendly relations."

"I would like our students here to realize that I think you have important opportunities to understand the cultures of our peoples."

"With these visits, we aim to further strengthen relations between the two countries," said Plasencia, adding the meetings that will be held on Friday play an important role in this regard.

Çavuşoğlu's Venezuela visit on his Latin American tour follows stops in Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Brazil and Ecuador.

The top Turkish diplomat will meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Friday as part of his visit.