Venezuela's acting president to meet Turkey's Erdogan in Istanbul

Venezuela's acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, is set to meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on Monday. Rodríguez arrived in the city Sunday night, making a surprise stop after a five-day visit to India.

The meeting was announced by Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who stated that Rodríguez accepted an invitation from President Erdogan. The two leaders are scheduled to convene at 5:30 PM local time at the Dolmabahce Palace on the Bosphorus, according to the Turkish presidency as reported by AFP.

Turkey has cultivated strong relations with the oil-rich nation of Venezuela, with President Erdogan maintaining close ties with the governments of the late socialist leader Hugo Chávez and his successor, Nicolás Maduro. In recent years, Turkey and Venezuela have signed multiple agreements spanning defense, energy, tourism, and agriculture.

Venezuela possesses the world's largest oil reserves, but years of mismanagement, corruption, and underinvestment have severely impacted production. The situation worsened following a U.S. oil embargo in 2019, though Washington later lifted sanctions. Since then, Rodríguez has been pursuing reforms to attract private investment into the country's oil industry.