Belgium minister hails 'big step forward' on inking Türkiye defence deals

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

"Belgium and Türkiye have taken a major step toward a long-term strategic defence partnership through the signing of a high-level letter of intent between the ministers of defence," Belgium's Defence Minister Theo Francken said after talks with his Turkish counterpart Yasar Guler. Belgium also expressed its support for Türkiye accessing the EU's 150-billion-euro SAFE initiative, a defence scheme aimed at strengthening European defence capabilities.