ANKARA - Spain decorated on Wednesday National Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul with the military medal of merit, the highest military medal in Spain.
Spanish Ambassador to Turkey Manuel De La Camara presented Gonul with the medal in a ceremony held at the Spanish Embassy in Ankara.
Speaking in the ceremony, Gonul expressed pleasure and gratitude for receiving the medal.
Gonul said that increasing cooperation and friendship between Turkey and Spain would be the guarantee of regional stability and expressed full belief that the medal would further improve friendly relations and cooperation between to countries.
The most important factor in establishment of friendly ties between two countries which were situated in the east and west parts of the Mediterranean was the Mediterranean culture, Gonul noted.
Gonul stated that it was obvious that the Mediterranean would be a vital region in the coming century when compared with the previous century.
Spain had important contributions to world peace under umbrella of NATO, United Nations (U.N.) and European Union (EU), Gonul pointed out.
Gonul said that cooperation between Turkey and Spain in field of defense could create an example for other fields.
Besides cooperation between forces, Turkey and Spain continued cooperation in defense industry, Gonul stated.
Gonul stressed that Turkey would build a memorial for 62 Spanish soldiers who lost their lives last year as a Ukrainian plane crashed near northern Trabzon province when carrying the soldiers from Afghanistan to their homeland.
Spanish Ambassador to Turkey Camara said that Gonul was dealing with very important and difficult issues which were affecting national interests of Turkey.
Camara noted that Gonul played a very important role in a difficult period thanks to his experiences and common sense.
The year 2004 would be a very critical year for Turkey due to Iraq and Cyprus issues, EU process and NATO summit to be held in Istanbul, Camara stated.
Camara recalled that Spanish Defense Minister Federico Trillo was grateful for Gonul's support after the plane crash in which 62 Spanish soldiers died last year.
(BRC) 21.01.2004