Turkey to start political dialogue with latin American trade bloc Mercosur

Turkey and Brazil will step up efforts to explore the great untapped trade and energy cooperation potential between them, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said over the weekend after meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Celso Amorim. Turkey's outreach to Latin America in recent years is second only to its efforts in Africa, Davutoglu said. Stating that Turkey hopes to benefit from Brazilian experience and influence in the region, Davutoglu said, "To this end, we launched an important initiative: Turkey is set to start political dialogue with Mercosur." Mercosur is a regional bloc among Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people and currency. "Brazil will soon assume the term presidency of the regional trade organization, and a memorandum of understanding for this process will be signed in December," Davutoglu added.