Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertugrul Gunay left Sunday for Brazil to receive an award by UN-Habitat and Rafic Hariri Foundation on behalf of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Gunay told the Anadolu Agency before his departure he would participate in the Habitat's Fifth General Assembly, set to convene on March 22-26 in Brazil's Rio de Janeiro.

Gunay said he would also meet his foreign counterparts on the sidelines of the Habitat meeting.

Gunay said his ministry was planning to open a culture and tourism office in Sao Paulo in a bid to boost relations between Turkey and Brazil.

The Turkish minister said Prime Minister Erdogan was expected to visit Brazil in May.

Gunay is set to return to Turkey on Thursday.


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