President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will chair the eighth intergovernmental summit of their countries on June 13. The summit seeks to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two Mediterranean countries.
The first intergovernmental summit of Türkiye and Spain was held in Spain in 2009 while Erdoğan was prime minister and the last summit was in the capital of Ankara in 2021. At the 2021 summit, the two countries announced that their relations were upgraded to a “comprehensive partnership” level.
Turkish diplomatic sources told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Monday that the eighth summit aimed at further developing already perfect political relations with a regional and international joint stance, enriching economic, commercial and investment opportunities and thus, deepening the comprehensive partnership.”
Both Erdoğan and Sanchez are expected to be accompanied by five ministers of their governments at the summit. The two countries are also scheduled to sign about 15 bilateral agreements in several fields, from trade to culture and sports. Prior to the summit, Erdoğan will meet Spain’s King Felipe VI.
Sources said Turkish-Spanish relations maintained close cooperation and ties without prejudice and based on mutual understanding and the summit would provide a venue for solution-oriented, more sustainable steps in ties rooted in history.
Apart from Türkiye, Spain regularly holds intergovernmental summits with Germany, France, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Algeria and Morocco.
Türkiye and Spain trace their relations back to the golden era of the Ottoman Empire. A power struggle in the Mediterranean ceased in the 16th century. The two sides appointed ambassadors in that century and since then, Turkish-Spanish ties flourished. In 2005, Erdoğan and then Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero co-sponsored the initiative called Alliance of Civilizations in a bid to bridge the divide between the Western world and Islamic countries.
Erdoğan most recently held a phone call with Sanchez after Spain decided to recognize Palestine on May 28. He discussed the ongoing humanitarian crisis and Israeli attacks on Gaza, Türkiye-Spain relations and other developments. The president said Türkiye welcomed Spain's decision to recognize Palestine's statehood. He said this step would contribute to the facilitation of peace and justice in the region, as well as efforts for a two-state solution. Under Erdoğan’s leadership, Türkiye became the most prominent voice in the world championing the Palestinian cause. Türkiye advocates that recognition of Palestine may pave the way for ultimately resolving the longstanding Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Erdoğan found a kindred spirit in Sanchez over the matter. Sanchez has been outspoken in his criticism of Israel long before the recognition of the State of Palestine, over brutal killings of thousands of people in the Gaza Strip since last October. Last week, Spain announced that it would join South Africa’s case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) where Israel stands accused of genocide against Palestinians.
