Turkey and the Turks are very conscious of their identity and heritage. Ordinary people in Turkey do not see themselves as a living in a land torn between east and west. They relish variety and they see their country as a land enriched by a multiple heritage. We regard ourselves and we have always done, whether under the Republic or in Ottoman times, as part and parcel of Europe. Currently our role there is growing again, following the opening up of our economy in the 1980s.
Turkey is a large country of sixty-five million people.
Istanbul, a city of twelve million people, is Europe's largest city. Istanbul by itself has a GNP larger than that of Hungary. We are Britain's largest trading partner in the entire arc of countries between Austria and Morocco, including the countries of the Arab Middle East. We are about the sixth to eight largest external trading partner of the European Union and since 1996, we have had a customs union with it. A generation ago Turkey was an overwhelmingly agricultural country.