Turkey's membership of the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) was formally approved Tuesday, the Foreign Ministry confirmed yesterday.

The ECLAC, founded in 1948, is one of the five regional commissions under the U.N. Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that aims to "contribute to the development of Latin American countries and to harmonize their economic policies."

Turkey had applied for ECLAC membership on Feb. 1, 2016, during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Chile. The application was accepted on Jan. 30, 2017.

"We welcome the formal approval of Turkey's membership to the U.N. Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean [ECLAC] at the U.N. Economic and Social Council [ECOSOC] meeting in New York yesterday [Tuesday]," the ministry said in a statement.

The membership shows the importance Turkey places in Latin America and the Caribbean, the statement said, adding that Turkey aims at improving bilateral and institutional ties with the countries in the region.