Maduro visits Turkey as LA summit in disarray

CARACAS, Venezuela－Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived in Turkey on Tuesday for an official visit as poor attendance of regional countries in Latin America clouds a summit in Los Angeles.

The VTV state channel showed footage of Maduro arriving at the airport in Ankara, where he was received by senior Turkish officials.

"I am delighted to start this international tour, in the lands of the sister Turkish nation," Maduro wrote on Twitter.

"I appreciate the warm welcome and affection they have shown us. I am sure that we will consolidate the ties of union and cooperation between our peoples."

Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba were not invited to the weeklong Summit of the Americas hosted by Washington. Mexico's president skipped the event in protest at the exclusion of the three countries' leaders.

Leaders of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras were also absent, even though illegal migration from the region is expected to be a key talking point.

Maduro arrived in Turkey hours after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov did.

Lavrov was in the country to discuss unblocking grain exports from Ukraine, stalled in the ongoing conflict.

It was not known if Maduro and Lavrov would meet, but the Venezuelan leader is expected to be received by his counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

"All aspects of Turkey-Venezuela relations will be reviewed and steps to enhance the relations will be discussed," a presidency statement said.

In Washington, US Vice-President Kamala Harris announced on Tuesday during the summit a fresh $1.9 billion in private sector funding to boost jobs in hopes of reducing migration from Central America.

Unenviable task

Harris has been given the unenviable task of tackling the root causes of rising migration into the United States, an issue seized upon by the rival Republican Party that has turned into a top priority for US President Joe Biden at the weeklong summit.

The unveiling of $1.9 billion in business commitments is in addition to $1.2 billion announced last year, with the aim of creating economic opportunities in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

Harris also announced the creation of the Central American Service Corps funded through US aid to mentor young people.

The investments aim "to provide hope for people in the region to build safe and prosperous lives at home", a White House statement said.

On the visit to her home state, Harris met regional business leaders and Central American civil society and female entrepreneurs as she promoted women's empowerment.

Agencies via Xinhua