Turkey-Spain Joint Economic and Trade Commission Meeting

Mehmet Muş, Minister of Trade, said that Turkey and Spain, which are approaching their annual bilateral trade volume target of 20 billion dollars, have significant potential to increase their cooperation.

Minister Muş, who was in official contacts in Madrid, the capital of Spain, due to the 2nd term meeting of the Turkey-Spain Joint Economic and Trade Commission (JETCO), met with Reyes Maroto, the Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism.

The two ministers, who signed a protocol aiming to further the economic relations between the two countries in different fields, then chaired the meeting organized at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce with the participation of the directors of large-scale companies and addressed the business people.

In his speech at the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, Minister Muş emphasized that the bilateral trade volume was $16 billion in 2021 and that an increase of 16 percent was recorded in the first 4 months of 2022 compared to the same period of the previous year. He stated that the trade volume target of 20 billion dollars agreed at the summit was approached step by step.

"Turkey has once again come of age as a safe and solid supplier, even in the great challenges experienced on a global scale. Turkey continues to be the most appropriate address." Muş noted that when European manufacturers began to diversify their suppliers, Turkey came to the fore and this had a positive impact on trade with Spain.

Minister Muş said that multinational companies based in Spain have positioned Turkey in a better place, and that the potential will increase much more if the two countries combine their opportunities.

Stating that textile products account for approximately one third of Turkey's exports to Spain and that there is a very good cooperation in terms of logistics, Minister Muş said that, in addition to automotive and machinery, he aims to develop cooperation in informatics, health, defense, green reconciliation action plans and service sectors. expressed their aim.

Noting that Spain ranks 8th among the countries investing in Turkey with 8 billion dollars, Muş underlined that there are significant potentials to improve the existing cooperation in the fields of digitalization, smart cities, artificial intelligence, defense, aviation and space industries.

Minister Muş said, "We will do our best to open the ro-ro shipping line between Istanbul and Barcelona as soon as possible."

On the other hand, Minister Muş, who shared the information that 104 thousand Spanish tourists came to Turkey and 140 thousand Turks came to Spain despite the epidemic last year, stated that there are sufficient opportunities to develop health tourism.