Turkish business body opens office in Chile

By Tuba Sahin</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Turkey's Independent Industrialists' and Businessmen's Association (MUSIAD) opened a representative office in Chile as part of its 2019 drive to strengthen its presence in Latin America.</p> <p>MUSIAD has now 224 representative offices in 94 countries, according to a statement released Monday. </p> <p>Chile became the fourth country in the region — after Venezuela, Mexico and Colombia — where the association opened offices. </p> <p>Abdurrahman Kaan, the head of MUSIAD, said organizational works in South America have accelerated since the business body declared 2019 &quot;the year of Latin America and the Asia-Pacific&quot;. </p> <p>Stating that Latin America has a great potential with a trade volume of $700 billion and over $2 trillion of GDP, Kaan said MUSIAD aims to play an active role in the region. </p> <p>According to Turkish Statistical Institute, bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Chile amounted to nearly $79 million in the first two months of 2019.