Colombia’s embassy in the Turkish capital Ankara held a concert to celebrate the Latin American country’s 213th anniversary of independence Thursday.

Ambassador Julio Anibal Riano lauded "happily progressing" relations between his country and Türkiye as he addressed the gathering ahead of the piano concert.

"Türkiye and Colombia also enjoy a very robust bilateral agenda, recently enriched by visits at the highest level, during which they were strengthened by the signing of a good number of agreements on multiple issues in full force in economic and commercial arenas," Riano said.

Colombia for Türkiye is its second-biggest trading partner in Latin America; and for Colombia, Türkiye is its fifth largest trading partner, he added.

"Despite the physical distance, we are united with Türkiye by a meridian of transparent and respectful friendship," he said.

Also in attendance, the Turkish Foreign Ministry's Deputy Director General for Americas Ceylan Özen Erişen said the Turkish-Colombian friendship and partnership truly work for the benefit of the peoples of the two nations.

"Deepening our already very close relations with Latin American countries is a priority. Last year, we upgraded our relations with Colombia to the level of a strategic partnership. Now it is time to put our strategic partnership in concrete action," Erişen said.

Relations between Türkiye and Colombia are developing in almost every field.

Türkiye and Colombia opened their embassies in Bogota and Ankara in 2010 and 2011, respectively. They upgraded ties to the level strategical partnership after signing a joint memorandum in Istanbul last year when Colombia’s then-president Ivan Duque Marquez paid a working visit.