Venezuela invites Turkish construction in exchange for oil

To meet its need for 2 million residences, Venezuela yesterday proposed an "oil for houses" deal to Turkey. Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yildiz, after visiting the mausoleum of Venezuela's national hero Simon Bolivar on the second day of his visit to Venezuela, met with Venezuelan Energy and Petroleum Minister Rafael Dario Ramirez Carreno. "Venezuela needs hundreds of residences, and we made an offer to Yildiz to provide oil to Turkey in exchange for them building residences," Ramirez told reporters after the meeting. "We made a request for residences from Turkey, as Turkey has an excellent construction sector." Yildiz said he had a very fruitful meeting with Ramirez, adding, "We talked about business opportunities between Turkey and Venezuela." The residences Venezuela needs could be built either by Turkey's Housing Development Administration (TOKI) or the Turkish private sector, Yildiz said.