The presidents of 17 countries will come to Ankara on July 9 to attend president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s oath-taking ceremony, pro-government Yeni Akit newspaper reported on Thursday.
Venezuela, Kazakhstan, Macedonia, Guinea, Somali, Zambia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, and Georgia are among the countries to be represented by their presidents during the ceremony.
insidenewsThe list of attendees include Western Balkan countries that are important for President Erdoğan’s policy of increasing Turkey’s influence in the Balkans, as well as countries from Africa which Erdoğan sees a priority as a result of Africa’s economic potential.
Erdoğan and Venezuelan President Madura, whose governments have both been left largely isolated due both to their ideological distance from the international community and growing concerns over rights abuses, forged a close relationship ahead of the elections held on June 24.
