Romania–Turkey relations

**Romanian–Turkish relations**


Romania	Turkey

Romanian–Turkish relations are foreign relations between Romania and Turkey. The two countries maintain longstanding historical, geographic, and cultural relations. Romania has an embassy in Ankara and two consulates-general in Istanbul and İzmir. Turkey has an embassy in Bucharest and a consulate-general in Constanţa. Both countries are full members of the BLACKSEAFOR and BSEC. Also Romania is an EU member and Turkey is a candidate.

1 History
2 Political Relations
3 High Level Positions
4 Economic Relations
5 See also
6 External links

History

Romania became a kingdom after the Congress of Berlin in 1878. The Communist-dominated government bloc won elections in 1946 which led to the formation of a Communist "People's Republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. Romania joined the Warsaw Treaty Organization and the United Nations in 1955. Following Nicolae Ceauşescu's overthrow, trial, and execution in 1989, Romania joined NATO in 2004, and became a member of the EU in 2007.

Political Relations

Turkey's relations with its neighbour Romania at the Black Sea are based on a long history and have developed rapidly since the 1989 Revolution, reaching at an ideal level. Geographically, Romania is situated on the routes connecting Turkey with the North and East of Europe. It is the second largest country in the Balkans with the second biggest population following Turkey. Turkey is the biggest trade partner of Romania in the Balkans and the Middle East. Romania's successful integration with the Euro-Atlantic institutions culminated in its membership in NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007. Romania supports Turkey's membership in the EU.

High Level Positions

President Ahmet Necdet Sezer visited Romania between July 8-9, 2004.
President Traian Băsescu visited Turkey between September 28-29, 2005.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Romania between October 24-26, 2007.
Prime Minister Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu visited Turkey between February 1-2, 2006.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Lazăr Comănescu visited Turkey on April 19 and 20 November 2003.
Head of the Parliament Bogdan Olteanu visited Turkey between November 7-9, 2007.
Speaker of the Parliament Koksal Toptan visited Romania between November 27-30 May, 2008.

Economic Relations

The volume of trade between Turkey and Romania in the year 2006 totaled 5 billion dollars. In the period January-October 2007, the volume of Turkey’s exports is 2,95 billion dollars, and the volume of Turkey’s imports is 2,56 billion dollars. Turkey’s main exports are textile products, land transportation vehicles, iron and steel, plastics and other chemicals, fruits and vegetables, metal products, electrical machinery and appliances, draining/heating/illumination systems. Turkey’s main imports are metal ores, scraps, plastics, coal bitumen, crude oil products, wood products, non-ferrous metals. The potential for developing economic and trade relations between Turkey and Romania presents a wide spectrum of interest. Turkey is one of the leading investors in Romania. By the end of 2006, Turkish companies’ investments reached to 474 million dollars. Turkish contracting companies have undertaken projects worth 1,5 billion dollars. The number of Romanian tourists who visited Turkey in the year 2006 was 245.941.