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Spanish–Turkish relations are foreign relations between the Kingdom of Spain and the Republic of Turkey. Spain has an embassy in Ankara and a consulate general in Istanbul. Turkey has an embassy in Madrid and a consulate general in Barcelona.
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History
During the 16th century, Habsburg Spain and the Ottoman Empire fought for supremacy in the Mediterranean. A highlight was the battle of Lepanto where the Spanish-led fleet (allied with the Republic of Venice and the Papal States) won over the Ottoman fleet. In North Africa, the Spanish actions against the Barbary Pirates (Ottoman allies) were not successful for long.
During this time, the Ottomans welcomed many Sephardi Jews and Conversos, fleeing from religious persecution in Spain, who introduced the Gutenberg press and theater, and supported a failed Morisco revolt. The silver brought from Spanish America caused massive inflation in Spain, that extended to the rest of Europe and even the Ottoman Empire.
Modern relations between the two countries started in 1782 when the Agreement of Peace, Friendship and Trade was signed.
Political relations
Turkey and Spain are both members of the Council of Europe, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Union for the Mediterranean.
There are no political problems between Turkey and Spain at bilateral level. Spain is one of the major countries supporting Turkey’s membership to the European Union.
The Joint Action Plan signed between Turkey and Spain on July 22, 1998 established the framework of the bilateral relations between the two countries.
The Alliance of Civilizations was initiated by the Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, co-sponsored by the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Economic relations
Trade volume between Turkey and Spain was €5.99 billion in 2011. There was a development in the economic field in 2015 with trade at USD 8.5 billion.
There are more than 610 Spanish firms operating in Turkey. The value of Spanish investments in Turkey is around $10 billion. In 2008, more than 350,000 Spanish tourists visited Turkey.
Around 75 Turkish firms operate in Spain. The Turkish investments in Spain reached $143 million in the period of 2002-2015.