Turkey is the centre of world politics, an important partner for Chile, country's FM says

Turkey is the "center of world politics" and an important partner for Chile, the Latin American nation's foreign minister said.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency on Wednesday, Heraldo Munoz said his country hoped to deepen ties with Ankara, despite the 13,000-kilometer (8,000-mile) distance between the two nations.

"Turkey is the center of world politics," he said during a trip to Ankara to address a conference of Turkey's ambassadors. "For me, it is an important opportunity to be here and moreover to speak Turkish ambassadors. I hope to take advantage of my visit."

Chile was one of the first Latin American states to recognize the new Turkish Republic in the 1920s and this year sees the 90th anniversary of a friendship agreement signed between the nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is due to visit Chile on Feb. 1.

The first Turkish president to visit Chile was Süleyman Demirel in 1995.

Munoz said Turkey and Chile had developed strong trade ties over nine decades of contact and Chile is one of 13 countries in the region that Turkey has a trade agreement. "We have to stimulate that," he added.

According to Turkish Foreign Ministry website, Chile was Turkey's second largest regional trading partner after Brazil with trade worth $756 million in the first 11 months of 2011.

Apart from economic and political ties, Chileans and Turks share another passion - a love of Turkish soap operas.

According to Munoz, exported Turkish TV dramas have made a huge impact in his home country.

"The soap operas of Turkey are very popular in Chile," he said. "If Turkish actors and actresses [were to] walk in the streets of Chile, they would be recognized immediately and would probably be asked for photographs."

He added: "There is not a large Turkish community in Chile but I think that trade, investment, soap operas, football are links that can grow."