The relationship between Turkey and Spain will be brought to a new level, while trade and investments will also be increased, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said yesterday.
Yıldırım's remarks came at the Nueva Economia Forum held in Madrid, Spain, where he arrived Tuesday on an official visit.The relationship between Turkey and Spain is increasing every year, the prime minister said, indicating that trade between the two countries has reached $13 billion last year.
The two countries' trade is based on the win-win principle, Yıldırım said.
"Spanish investors have trust in Turkey. They continue to make investments in the country. There are firms making serious investments in many areas such as banking, infrastructure, information, engineering and consultancy. More than 600 companies have invested around $10 billion. This figure was $3.5 billion 15 years ago," the prime minister said.
Yıldırım also mentioned that Turkey grew 7.4 percent last year, ranking first among the G20 members, adding that it was thanks to the strong government and continuous stability.
Speaking at the forum's opening ceremony, Spanish Tourism Minister Alvaro Nadal said: "Turkey is a gate into Asia and the Middle East for Spaniards, while Spain is also used as a gate into Latin America for Turks."
Nadal said Turkey and Spain are two important European countries. "Both countries have achieved great economic growth. Indeed, both countries have great touristic potentials."
He added, "Turkey is the fourth trading partner of Spain outside the European Union. This shows that these two countries have strong ties."
"We really have a very good trade volume, a very good bilateral investment relationship. Very important Spanish companies are carrying out operations in Turkey. Turkey is developing a very important infrastructure investment, a country with a growing economy and common political and economic strategies with us," he added.
Turkey hosted 32 million tourists last year, Nadal said, adding that Turkey was an important market for them.
An investment in Turkey is not solely an investment in that country, Yıldırım said, adding that it means access to a geography of 60 countries and a population of 1.5 billion where an annual $30 trillion of gross domestic product (GDP) is circulating with a 3.5 hour flight.
At the news conference, held on Tuesday after the 6th Turkey-Spain Intergovernmental Summit, Yıldırım touched on the relations between Ankara and Madrid.He said during the summit, participants discussed boosting economic and commercial investments, the fight against terrorism and illegal migration.
Yıldırım added that balanced trade is important between the two countries, saying the countries have the potential for much more trade.
