Erdogan: "The one who has friend has a treasure"

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended a conference focusing on investment opportunities in Turkey which was held in Madrid with the participation of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy and prominent businesspeople. Erdogan greeted the audience by saying, "Quien tiene amigo tiene un tesoro" (The one who has friend has a treasure) and defining Spain as a close friend in every field. Speaking at the meeting, Erdogan underlined the importance of cooperation between Turkey and Spain at a time when regional issues become serious, problems are encountered in Syria and Palestine and global economic crisis is underway. Stating that Turkey would like to increase its trade volume with Spain from 8 billion Euros to 10 billion Euros in a short period of time, Erdogan called on Spain to work in cooperation towards this end. Erdogan also invited Spanish businessmen to invest in Turkey, saying that the two countries could carry out exports to countries in the region and implement joint projects thanks to other projects to be implemented by the government and stability in Turkey's economy. Erdogan also said that the amount of export made by Spanish companies to Turkey has increased by 60 percent in the last five years, expressing confidence in the dynamism shared by Turkish and Spanish businesspeople in terms of developing joint projects.