Turkey-Spain relations; 10 times business relations in 20 years

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, the visit of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan The Turkish President’s visit to Madrid, Spain is another example of Ankara’s efforts to develop economic relations with European countries. was present and a group of Turkish industrialists and economic activists accompanied him on this trip.

During the past few years, Turkey has a good relationship with the member states of the Union in political and security fields. Europe has not, but in the field of economy, it has gotten a better situation year by year.

Apparently, this situation shows that there is a kind of unwritten agreement between Turkey and the Europeans. They buy raw materials and manufactured goods from Turkey at a low price and have taken over a significant part of the Turkish goods consumption market. But when it comes to political and legal issues and Turkey’s membership in the Union, they question Ankara’s behavior in various fields and are not ready to comment on the possibility of Turkey’s membership.

Spain is one of These are the countries that have growing relations with Turkey in the economic field and have agreed with Turkey on the recognition of the Palestinian state, but Spanish diplomats and representatives in the European Union Parliament and Commission are in the forefront of critics of Turkey’s policies.

Erdogan, in a joint press conference with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, evaluated the decision of this European country to recognize the Palestinian state as important and expressed hope that other countries will also be inspired by the correct view of Spain in this regard.

Unprecedented increase in business exchanges on the Ankara-Madrid route

In 2002, when Erdogan and his cronies had just taken power in Turkey, the volume of trade between Turkey and Spain barely reached 2 billion dollars, but in 2023, the exchanges reached the figure of 19 billion and 800 million dollars and recorded a remarkable 10 times record.

The important point in the economic relations between Turkey and Spain is that the balance of trade between these two countries in The point of moderation has been set and each of them will sell 10 billion dollars of goods to the other side.

Erdogan announced that increasing trade exchanges is one of the most important aspects of developing relations and all-round participation between the parties. And there is a tendency for more Spanish investors to invest in the Turkish market.

Now Spain is the sixth country that has a prominent presence in the Turkish market with 740 companies and 11 billion dollars worth of shares. On the other hand, Turkish contracting companies have completed 6 projects worth approximately 1.1 billion dollars in Spain, and participation in the Barcelona stadium project is one of the most concrete examples of cooperation in this field.

Erdogan announced about Turkey’s trade capacities The total volume of this country’s exports in 2023 has reached 355 billion dollars, of which 255.4 billion dollars are exports of goods and 101.7 billion dollars are exports of services, and Turkey and Spain, as two members of the G20, can mutually play an important role in increasing their power. economic each other.

A complaint and an unanswered request

Erdogan, after meeting with the king of Spain and also during the meeting with the prime minister of this country, pointed out the importance of cooperation in the field of defense industry between Ankara and Madrid and emphasized that the two sides can work together in the drone and submarine industries. , work well with each other, but the Spanish authorities, at least in the appearance and the visible part of the scene, did not give a clear answer to this proposal of the Turkish president.

Erdoğan in his press conference with Sanchez, He did not forget the complaint against the European Union and said about the Union’s confrontation with Turkey’s membership: “Our efforts continue by implementing the necessary measures for full membership in the European Union.” However, our honest steps towards the European Union have been hindered by some members who only care about their own interests. They cannot see the fact that our country’s membership in the Union creates a high added value”. It pointed out that the EU’s lack of cooperation with Turkey in the area of ​​customs union exemption and strict procedures for issuing visas to Turkish businessmen are examples of narrow-minded policies that prevent the full use of common capacity in economic and trade fields.

Erdoğan also announced that he is grateful for the sincere support of Spain, especially Sanchez, for Turkey’s EU membership process and believes that this process will continue to increase.

Current During the visit of the President of Turkey to Spain, 11 agreements were signed between the two countries. Among them: memorandum of understanding between the Ministry of Labor and Social Security, memorandum of understanding in the field of energy conversion, joint action plan in the field of forestry, cultural memorandum between the Yunus Amre Institute and the Cervantes Institute, a memorandum of understanding in the field of technical and vocational education between the Ministry of National Education and Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports of the Kingdom of Spain, Memorandum of Understanding on Seafarer Training Standards, Memorandum of Understanding between Exim Bank of Turkey and the Spanish Export Credit Agency (CESCE), Memorandum of Understanding between the Organization for Regulation and Supervision of Insurance and Pensions, Memorandum of Understanding on Scientific and Technological Cooperation, Cooperation for Peaceful goals in space studies and the joint statement of the Turkish Presidential Wealth Fund and the Spanish Development Finance Corporation (COFIDES) were also signed in this ceremony. The two important powers of the European Union, Germany and France, have cold political relations, and they are also worried about the rise of nationalists in Italy. The development of relations with countries such as Spain and the Netherlands has become more important for Ankara.

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