'Europeans should admit Turkey's economic success'

Turkey is becoming one of the world's largest economies, and this should be acknowledged, said a former German president on Monday.

"My German friends probably will not be happy to hear this, but we must admit Turkey's development. Because German companies played an important role in the development of Turkey, we should be pleased at Turkey's success," Christian Wulff told a conference in Istanbul sponsored by Başkent University and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

"We must see and admit that there will be the [world's] largest airport in Istanbul," he added, referring to the new Istanbul Airport, which opened last fall and is planned to be a major new hub.

Turkey is building roads and tunnels and the country's industry is developing, while the country is becoming one of the world's largest economies, he said.

Saying he feels like home in Istanbul, Wulff cited Napoleon's comment: "If the world was a single country, its capital would be Istanbul."