Belgium and Turkey sign nine defence pacts

Belgian defence minister hails 'big step forward' in bilateral cooperation

ANKARA:

Belgium and Turkey have signed nine defence agreements, the Belgian defence minister told AFP in Ankara on Wednesday after top-level talks with his Turkish counterpart.

"Today was a really big step forward," Belgium's Defence Minister Theo Francken said after talks with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler in the framework of four-day economic mission led by Belgium's Queen Mathilde.

Francken was speaking at a defence and aeronautical networking event at the Belgium ambassador's residence in the Turkish capital. The move comes as European nations seek to reinvigorate their defence industries in light of the threat from Russia and the risk of a US disengagement from NATO.

Six of the defence-industrial agreements were signed in Ankara on Wednesday and another three in Istanbul on Monday, Francken's office said in a statement. "Belgium and Turkey have taken a major step toward a long-term strategic defence partnership through the signing of a high-level letter of intent," it said.

Belgium also expressed its support for Turkey accessing the EU's 150-billion-euro ($176-billion) SAFE initiative, a defence scheme aimed at strengthening European defence capabilities. Francken said the contacts covered Belgian and Turkish investments as well as "joint cooperations".

He did not give any further details detail, but expressed interest in buying Turkish drones. "Yes, that would be great," he said, noting any such move would be subject to European procurement rules.