La ministra Saiz avanza en Estambul en la aplicación del acuerdo de política social entre España y Turquía

The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, held a meeting this Wednesday in Istanbul, in the presidential residence of Dolmabahçe, with the Minister of Family and Social Services of Turkey, Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş. Both have addressed key social policy issues following the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between the two ministries last June in Madrid.

This agreement provides for the exchange of experiences and joint work in areas such as social assistance in the fight against poverty, social inclusion policies or economic and social support practices for vulnerable groups. Minister Saiz has expressed Spain’s commitment to advancing the implementation of this agreement, recognizing Turkey’s fundamental role as a valuable partner for both Spain and the EU.

“This meeting underlines the importance of Turkey as a strategic partner for Spain and the European Union as a whole. I would like to thank the minister for her welcome and her willingness to work collaboratively on issues of social policy and inclusion through the Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries,” said Saiz.

For the development and implementation of the agreement, a Plan of Actions has been addressed that includes the holding of a first meeting in September to establish key points of collaboration and actions for the coming months. In addition, a training and exchange of experiences will be held in 2025 focused on the evaluation of social inclusion policies carried out by the Inclusion Policy Laboratory – promoted by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration – and its future challenges.

Migration policy

During the meeting, Minister Saiz was also able to discuss migration policy issues, and thanked her counterpart for hosting 4 million Syrian refugees, underlining the enormous value of the Turkish effort in this area. “We need to continue working closely to develop effective inclusion and integration policies,” he said. In this regard, Minister Saiz has invited her Turkish counterpart to the ministerial meeting on social policy of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) held this year in Paris.

For her part, Minister Özdemir has highlighted the position of Spain on the conflict in Palestine and the defense of peace that both countries carry out in the Alliance of Civilizations. He has also valued Spain’s work to combat xenophobic discourses in the face of current migratory flows.

This visit comes two months after the VIII Intergovernmental Summit between Spain and Turkey, held at the Palacio de la Moncloa. At that summit, chaired by the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 13 collaboration agreements were signed between several ministries. Among them, the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation between the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration of Spain and the Ministry of Family and Social Services of Turkey stands out.

Minister Saiz has highlighted the excellent state of bilateral relations between the two countries and has pointed out the need to continue working on inclusion and migration policies. “Together, we can develop strategies that benefit our societies and contribute to the well-being of our most vulnerable citizens,” he concluded.