Turkey and Belgium signed a defense industry cooperation letter in Ankara on Wednesday as a Belgian economic mission led by the queen of Belgium moved from İstanbul business events to political, security and trade talks in the Turkish capital.
Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler met with Belgian Defense and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken at the Defense Ministry, where Francken was welcomed with a military ceremony before the two sides held one-on-one and delegation-level talks, Turkey’s Defense Ministry said, according to the Anadolu news agency.
After the talks Turkey’s defense ministry, its Presidency of the Defense Industry (SSB) and Belgium’s defense ministry signed a letter of intent on defense industry cooperation.
The letter was the most concrete defense outcome so far in a mission that Belgian and Turkish officials have framed around trade, investment, aerospace, defense, logistics, energy, digital transformation and pharmaceuticals.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also met with Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot in Ankara on Wednesday as part of the Belgian economic mission.
The talks came as the Turkish and Belgian foreign ministries issued a joint statement saying the May 10-14 mission was aimed at strengthening trade and investment in strategic sectors, including energy, aerospace and defense, logistics and transportation, digital transformation and Industry 4.0, life sciences and pharmaceuticals.
The statement said the visit included more than 400 representatives from Belgian federal and regional authorities, companies, federations, chambers of commerce and academic institutions.
It said sectoral seminars and structured business-to-business and business-to-government meetings were held across the mission’s priority sectors.
The two governments said the mission resulted in the signing of bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding in mobility, defense and defense industry cooperation, social protection and agri-food product safety.
The joint statement described Turkey and Belgium as longstanding partners and NATO allies and said the mission marked an important step toward more structured and closer political relations.
It said both countries welcomed the momentum in bilateral relations amid regional and global developments and underlined their shared interest in international peace and stability.
The statement also said the two sides recognized the importance of Turkey-European Union relations and supported constructive engagement, including talks on modernizing the Turkey-EU customs union and facilitating business and people-to-people mobility within EU frameworks and benchmarks.
Turkey has long pushed for an update of the customs union, which entered into force in 1996 and covers industrial goods and processed agricultural products but excludes services, public procurement and most agricultural trade.
The Ankara leg also included a visit by the Belgian delegation to Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic. Prévot, Brussels-Capital Region Minister-President Boris Dilliès, Walloon Vice President Pierre-Yves Jeholet, Belgium’s Ambassador to Turkey Hendrik Van de Velde and other delegation members took part in the visit.
Queen Mathilde led the Belgian economic mission to Turkey, the first royal-level Belgian economic mission to the country in 14 years. She took part in the İstanbul program from May 10-12, while the official delegation continued to Ankara on Wednesday and Thursday.
The mission began in İstanbul with business forums, company visits and meetings with Turkish officials. Queen Mathilde visited Turkey’s central bank campus in the İstanbul Finance Center on Tuesday, where she was accompanied by Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Family and Social Services Minister Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş and Central Bank Governor Fatih Karahan.
The İstanbul program also included a visit to Turkish drone maker Baykar and a meeting between Queen Mathilde and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before the delegation moved on to Ankara.
Earlier in the mission Prévot, Francken and Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat signed a joint declaration in İstanbul aimed at strengthening bilateral trade relations.
Bolat said the two countries aim to raise bilateral trade to $15 billion, up from $9.3 billion in 2025, and called for Belgian support for modernizing the Turkey-EU customs union.
Prévot told Anadolu earlier this week that Belgium sees Turkey as the “guardian of the southeast flank of the European continent” and a strategic NATO partner, citing Turkey’s role as the alliance’s second-largest army.
He said Belgium had reached NATO’s 2 percent of gross domestic product defense spending target last year and would continue investing in defense.
Turkey, a NATO member since 1952, has expanded its defense industry in recent years, producing drones, armored vehicles, naval systems, sensors and military aviation platforms.
Bolat said this week that Turkey’s defense and aerospace exports had risen from $248 million in 2002 to more than $10 billion in 2025, adding that Turkey now ranks 11th in defense product exports.
He said Belgium had shown growing interest in deeper engagement with Turkey’s defense ecosystem.