H.E. Diego Lopez Garrido,
Mr. Jose Louis Rodriguez,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,

I am pleased to address you at this meeting organized by a prestigious establishment, Nueva Economía Fórum. I think this forum is indeed Spain’s prominent powerhouse for highest quality intellectual debate and dialogue, bringing together opinions and providing a free exchange of ideas among leading personalities in political, economic and social fields. Indeed, the availability of this kind of independent, private institutions where open dialogue and diverse ideas flourish is vital in producing fresh thinking that dynamic countries such as Turkey and Spain need.

Dynamism is certainly only one of the many traits that make Turkey and Spain similar in many aspects. Our two countries are situated at the two extremities of the Mediterranean. Paradoxically enough, despite the geographical distance that separates us, we have so much in common.

First and foremost, as the theme of this session suggests, Turkey and Spain are the two gateways of the Mediterranean, one connecting it through the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, through the Gibraltar Strait to Africa and the other tying it with the Black Sea, the Caucasus, the Middle East and Central Asia. Both locations have throughout the centuries been at the crossroads of different cultures and served as windows opening to new landscapes. Turkey and Spain have also been home to different religions and beliefs, a fact that greatly enhanced our cultural heritages. Both nations have been for several centuries great empires at the two ends of the Mediterranean and have written many important pages of the European history.

Our two countries that have left indelible cultural marks on their part of the map, also fought bravely to prevail in the Mediterranean. Our rivalries throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries finally came to an end with the signing of the Treaty of Peace between the Spanish Empire and the Ottoman Empire in 1782 in Istanbul. Ratification documents of the Treaty were presented to the Ottoman court by the Spanish Envoy Don Juan de Bouligny, (Don Huan dö Bulinyi) on April 25, 1783, which can be considered as the beginning of formal diplomatic relations between our countries.

Imperial days are long over. Since then, diplomatic relations have been strengthened continuously in a steady manner, fueled by mutual respect and sympathy between our peoples. Shortly after the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, the Treaty of Friendship between the Republic of Turkey and the Kingdom of Spain was signed in Ankara on 27 September 1924; followed by a Friendship Agreement in 1959. The relations between the two countries gained new momentum in the mid 1980’s with the membership of Spain to NATO and to the EU, as well as the implementation of similar economic policies by the two countries towards opening up to the world. Today our countries are allies who share the values of democracy, pluralism and freedom and partners who work together for peace and prosperity in Europe, the Mediterranean and elsewhere.

Distinguished Guests,

The agreement in September 2008, between Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero (Hose Luis Rodrigez Zapatero) and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on holding bilateral annual summits has definitely upgraded our relations to a new level. The first Spain-Turkey Summit held in April 2009 was a success and proved the timeliness of this mechanism in taking our relations forward. Without losing this momentum, we are looking forward to organizing the second Summit meeting in February 2010.

The dramatic growth in our bilateral trade and the development of our economic relations match our perfect political relations. Our trade volume grew significantly in the last couple of years and has reached 8.6 billion dollars in 2008. Spain is the tenth most important trading partner of Turkey and the trend in our bilateral trade is upward. Contacts between officials and businessmen in the economic field have remarkably intensified. There are currently more than 240 Spanish companies doing business in Turkey and around 70 Turkish companies in Spain. Spanish direct investment in Turkey has significantly increased in the last four years. Higher levels of trade and closer economic ties between our countries contribute to the prosperity of our region. The more we interact in the economic field, the larger the wealth generated out of this interaction will be. For that reason, private sectors of both countries should be encouraged to look into the possibilities of cooperation in third countries as well.

Distinguished Guests,

Perhaps a unique case of cooperation between Turkey and Spain is the Alliance of Civilizations, launched and co-sponsored by our Prime Ministers.

In the five years that have elapsed since Prime Minister Zapatero proposed an “Alliance of Civilizations” on 22 September 2004 at the 59th UN General Assembly, the Alliance has become a political reality, with the help of Prime Minister Erdoğan’s strong support. This embodiment of our joint political will is now a well-established UN initiative, enjoying the support of 88 countries and 16 international organizations.

The Alliance of Civilizations is the biggest asset in our efforts to promote cross-cultural dialogue, tolerance and mutual respect. The Madrid Forum held in January 2008 and the Istanbul Forum organized in April 2009 have laid the foundations of an action-oriented Alliance. I am confident that the next Forum to be held in Rio de Janeiro in May 2010 will help us to continue to build upon that sound basis.

Our countries have also joined forces to develop the Alliance’s regional strategy for Southeastern Europe. Minister Moratinos and I are looking forward to the Ministeral Meeting in Sarajevo in December to adopt the regional strategy.

Turkey and Spain have also worked together to adopt a UN General Assembly resolution on the Alliance. (I am pleased to be able to say that the resolution drafted by Turkey and Spain was adopted in the General Assembly on 9 November 2009.)

Distinguished Guests,

You may be aware that Amin Maalouf, the prominent writer of Lebanese Christian origins, has authored another impressive book on the state of cultural affairs today; “Le dérèglement du monde” (lö dereglöman dü mond). The book begins with the observation that the world has entered the new century without a compass.

The 21st century will indeed be a critical period in human history. Humanity’s responses to the challenges such as cultural polarization, discrimination and intolerance which threaten to open new rifts between different cultures, will define the dynamics and destiny of this new era. In that regard, nations shall either collectively achieve prosperity and peace or face altogether even greater challenges.

My country is expending strenuous efforts to spread the message that respect for cultural diversity will greatly help in tackling the challenges of the 21st century. We need to perceive cultural diversity as a source of enrichment, rather than a threat to our own way of living. Our modern times bring us new ways of political interaction. The age of grand ideologies where each one used to impose its own vision on others came to an end. Similarly, the presumed hierarchy between cultures should be left behind us.

Hence, when I addressed the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Friends of the Alliance of Civilizations in New York on 26 September 2009, I emphasized that knowledge has not always travelled from west to east and that intellectuals from various civilizations – Muslim, Hindu, Chinese - made substantial and direct contributions to the scientific, medical and philosophical heritage of the Western world.

I also mentioned the so-called “Toledo translators” who helped to translate, from the 11th century onwards, thousands of books by Muslim authors into Latin and Spanish. Some 75 kilometers from here, in the town of Toledo, whole schools of such translators flourished, especially in the 12th century, translating books on medicine, astronomy, mathematics and philosophy. Francis Raymund, who was Archbishop of Toledo from 1125 to 1152, Gerard of Cremona who translated more than 80 scientific works before his death in 1187, and Dominicus Gundisalvi (Dominikus Gundisalvi), who was Archdeacon of Segovia (Segovya), were among the notable translators of this period. This is another example of our common cultural heritage.

As a matter of fact, “Al-Andalus” or Andalucía (Andalusiya) for several centuries was a beacon of learning, and the city of Cordoba became one of the leading cultural and economic centers in both the Mediterranean basin and the Islamic world. Literacy in this region was far more widespread than any other part of the West. Many religions, tribes and races coexisted in Andalucía, each contributing to its intellectual prominence. According to the chronicles of the day, the city of Cordoba in the 10th century had 700 mosques and 70 libraries, one of these reportedly housing 500,000 manuscripts. By comparison, the University of Paris library still had only 2,000 books later in the 14th century.

The Andalusian philosopher Averroes - the founder of the school of philosophy known by his name- had a lasting impact on the rise of secular thought in Western Europe. His works and commentaries as well as those of Ibn Tufail had a significant influence on modern philosophy.

The reason why I am citing these facts is not simply pointing to the rich cultural heritage of this country. Neither is it to underline the role of this historical richness in making of Spain the initiator of the Alliance of Civilizations with Turkey. My humble intention is to highlight the fact that the flag of progress, development and scientific innovation was transferred throughout the history from one culture to another. After the luminous age of Islam into the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the Western world has for a long time led humanity’s quest for progress. Today, the West is joined by new runners from the East and South. These new runners will surely bring dynamism and fresh energy to our quest.

Distinguished Guests,

By the same perspective, Turkey’s EU membership will provide the fresh energy and dynamism that the Union will need in the future. Our membership will present an opportunity for the EU to enhance its global status.

Turkey and the EU share a truly common vision for the future of our continent: a Europe that strengthens its soft power and advances its universal values; that is not monolithic; that promotes diversity; that is a confident actor in global politics. Turkey’s membership will help Europe achieve this common vision and will give Europe the necessary impetus to become a source of inspiration and an example for positive change to the rest of our region. With Turkey on board, I firmly believe that the cultural diversity and human fabric of the EU will be enhanced, and the vision of a Europe whole and free will be bolstered.

Speaking of Turkey’s EU vocation, I must underscore that this project is not a new idea but only the latest stage of a long historical process. Turkey and Europe share a long history. The Ottoman Empire and then the Republic of Turkey have been an integral part of the political, economical, cultural and social space that is Europe. The interaction between European nations and Turkey has not always been easy but the continuous interaction has consistently bred the major trends on all sides of the old continent.

Our contractual relations with the European Community started in 1959 very soon after Europe began its own process of integration and the Ankara Agreement – which envisaged the full membership of Turkey – was signed in 1963. However, the drive for attaining European and modern standards in every field has a long history that dates back several centuries. To put it in other words, for Turkey, the concepts of westernization, modernization and political and economic integration with Europe have always been by and large synonymous with each other. As a whole, they represent Turkish people’s desire to attain the highest standards for themselves in every field.

When compared with the existing members of the European Union, the road that Turkey took towards accession has been a long and strenuous one. It has not always been as smooth running as one would have hoped for. In this regard, we are happy to count Spain among those EU members that can really understand what Turkey is going through.

Over the years, there were many ups and downs. There have been two turning points in our relations: the Helsinki Summit decision of December 1999, whereby Turkey was declared a candidate country with a unanimous decision and the subsequent step to open negotiations with Turkey in October 2005. These two landmark decisions proved to be critical for the boosting radical transformation of the social, cultural and political fabric of Turkey.

Over the past decade and a half, we have made massive strides in advancing towards full membership. Turkey today is a country which has met the political criteria for membership by the EU’s standards. We also accomplished much in terms of introducing the necessary reforms and enacting the crucial legislation towards harmonizing with EU acquis. Of course, there is still ground to cover and we are determined as ever to rapidly fulfill our share of the bargain on the road towards our eventual membership.

Turkey’s reforms will obviously be key in order to achieve full membership. However one should also see that our efforts at home cannot on their own bring about the desired result. We need Europe to maintain a strategic vision both politically and economically, and keep pedaling in tandem with us towards this strategic goal.

There is no question that Spain has been among the keen supporters of Turkey’s full membership to the EU. We look forward to the merits of Spain’s forthcoming EU Presidency in January 2010. With Spain’s continuing support, we believe we can inject a new vigor into Turkey’s accession process, which would create positive spillover effects in many fields.

For Turkey, EU membership is a strategic goal and there can be no viable alternative to full membership.

Dear Guests,

In Turkey, we are reminded daily of the critical nature of geography, sometimes in positive, other times in challenging ways. We believe that the circles of peace, prosperity and cooperation that we started to build in our neighborhood will eventually expand to our broader region and thus contribute to world peace at large. In this quest, we see in Spain a reliable partner who is of the same mind. Spain and Turkey are two forces for good, two pillars for stability and peace at the two sides of the Mediterranean. I am confident that with our joint, all inclusive and collaborative efforts, we will be more capable in bringing peace, prosperity and cooperation to the Mediterranean and beyond.

Thank you.