Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan participated in 1st Forum of Alliance of Civilisations held in Madrid on January 14 & 15, 2008. Dr. Zeynel Abidin Erdem, serving as Chairperson of DEIK Turkish – Spanish Business Council for last 18 years, stated that the contacts by Prime Minister, who participated in the 1st Forum of Alliance of Civilisations in Madrid as guest of Mr. Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain, were of remarkable importance for the representatives of business community of both countries. He said “The visit of the Prime Minister to Spain turned out to be fruitful and useful for the representatives of business community of both countries.”

Prime Minister Erdoğan said that at discussions held with Prime Minister Zapatero they focused on latest regional and international developments, in addition to bilateral relations. Mr. Erdoğan said “We had to opportunity to discuss the measures to be taken against terrorism and cooperation, since Spain has fought and still is fighting against terror.”

Turkish – Spanish Business Forum
The Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the Turkish – Spanish Business Forum organised in Madrid on January 2008 by the International Economic Relations Committee, together with Mr. Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero, the Prime Minister of Spain, and Mr. Mehmet Aydın, State Secretary, Mr. Ali Babacan, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Zafer Çağlayan, Minister of Industry & Commerce, Mr. Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Transportation, Mr. M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Chairperson of TOBB – DEIK, Dr. Zeynel Abidin Erdem, Chairperson of DEIK Turkish – Spanish Business Council and Honorary Consul for Spain, Mr. Halim Mete, Vice Chairman of TOBB and many businessmen from Turkey.

At the forum, where around 90 Turkish businessmen were present, both Prime Ministers delivered their opinions on the relations between Turkey and Spain. With his speech at the meeting, Prime Minister Erdoğan noted that the relations between Spain and Turkey will prevail during Turkey’s full membership to the EU. Expressing that the full EU membership of Turkey is of outstanding importance for both the European countries and Turkey, the Prime Minister emphasized Turkey strives to strengthen its position as an energy center, energy distributor and transit country based on its geo-strategic location. Explaining that steps are taken to become fourth main artery for supply natural gas to the EU, Mr. Erdoğan stated that performance of joint projects in third countries by the Turkish and Spanish contracting companies will enhance the bilateral relations between two countries. He noted that the economic relations between two countries is gradually improving and underlined the necessity to increase the trade volume up to € 10 billion in the near future, which has been realized as over €6 billion in 2007.

Mr. Zafer Çağlayan, Minister and Mr. Joan Clos Matheu, the Spanish Minister, each addressed to the audience at the forum where Mr. Alfredo Bonet Baiget, the Undersecretariat for Foreign Trade, and Mr. Carlos Perez de Bricio, Mr. Jose Garcia Morales and Dr. Zeynel Abidin Erdem, all being Co-Chairmen of the Turkish – Spanish Business Council appeared as conferenciers. Furthermore, Mr. Alpaslan Korkmaz, President of the Turkish Investment Support and Promotion Agency, and Begoña, CEO of INTERES (Spanish Investment Agency) made each a presentation about the business and investment environment in Turkey and Spain.