Spain’s premier calls Türkiye ‘key economic partner,’ praises its economic advances

OVIEDO, Spain

Türkiye is one of Spain’s “key economic partners” said the Spanish prime minister on Thursday, hailing the country’s economic recovery at a bilateral Turkish-Spanish business summit in Madrid.

Joined by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and representatives from the Spanish and Turkish business communities, Pedro Sanchez highlighted “huge opportunities” to continue growing economic cooperation between the two nations.

“We know that despite ups and downs, Türkiye’s structural fundamentals will keep it growing in economic weight and geopolitical importance in the decades to come,” said Sanchez.

The premier hailed the Turkish government’s “brave” economic measures and “solid economic plan” that have been guiding its economic recovery. He also thanked the Turkish government for its willingness to listen to the concerns of Spanish companies and help them direct investments.

“When others doubted, we continued believing. When others were pulling investments out of Türkiye, we were stepping up our support,” he added.

“Spain is Türkiye’s best ally in Europe. I think this is an uncontroversial statement,” said Sanchez, pointing to Spain’s ballooning investments and business interests in the country.

As Sanchez highlighted, Türkiye’s significant ties to Asia, Europe, and Africa are highly complementary to Spain’s position within the EU and close ties with Latin America.

He called Thursday’s conference in Madrid as well as Turkish government policies “magnificent opportunities” to promote alliances between Spanish and Turkish businesses bilaterally as well as in third markets.

“Spain and its businesses need a strong and prosperous Türkiye,” added Sanchez.

At the conference, Sanchez announced five new trade-related agreements that aim to pave the way to increased bilateral business cooperation.

Carlos Torres Vila, the chief of Spanish bank BBVA, which operates in Türkiye under the name Garanti BBVA, also spoke at the conference, praising Türkiye’s economic recovery as well as the country’s market dynamics, favorable demographics and strategic geographical position.

“All of this makes Türkiye an ideal destination for near-shoring, which is to say it is the ideal destination for international investment,” he said, also acting as co-chair of the bilateral business summit.

• 8th Türkiye-Spain intergovernmental summit
• Türkiye -EU-Spain