Pedro Sánchez meets with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul

Istanbul (Turkey)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, greet each other (Pool Moncloa/Borja Puig de la Bellacasa)

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, has travelled to Istanbul to meet with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two leaders analysed bilateral trade relations, highlighting their growth in recent years and the potential for expansion in areas such as energy, infrastructure and technology. The President underlined the strategic importance of Turkey for many Spanish companies.

The leaders also discussed security and defence cooperation, as well as relations between Turkey and the European Union. At the international level, they discussed the situation in the Middle East and, in particular, the coordination of efforts to make progress towards peace in the region and the implementation of the two-state solution. Pedro Sánchez argued that the violence and the systematic blockade of humanitarian aid in Gaza must cease; in this regard, the president recalled that Spain is promoting a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly to demand that Israel end the blockade and allow full and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid.

On Ukraine, the President of the Government of Spain thanked Turkey for its role as mediator to bring an end to Russia's war of aggression and achieve a just and lasting peace.

Finally, President Sánchez invited Erdogan to take part in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Seville from 30 June to 3 July.

Non official translation