Belgium says defense ties with Türkiye will become ‘even stronger’

Belgium on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening bilateral defense cooperation with Türkiye, with Defense Minister Theo Francken describing the two countries as “close allies” whose partnership “is strong and will become even stronger.”

Francken met Turkish National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler at the NATO Defense Industry Forum in Ankara, emphasizing the importance of expanding cooperation as NATO allies work to enhance Europe’s defense capabilities and industrial capacity.

“A pleasure to meet Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler at the NATO Summit in Ankara. Belgium and Türkiye are close allies. Our defence partnership is strong and will become even stronger,” he wrote on US social media platform X.

The meeting came as Belgium joined Türkiye, the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland and the Czech Republic in signing a letter of intent (LOI) on closer cooperation for the A400M military transport aircraft program.

According to Francken, Belgium will contribute operational expertise gained from its A400M fleet and through its BELUX cooperation framework, describing the initiative as a step toward stronger European capabilities within NATO.

The Belgian minister also announced that his country joined Canada, Germany, Denmark, Latvia, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Sweden, Spain and the Czech Republic in agreeing to jointly acquire up to 10 Saab GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft.

In a separate multinational initiative, Belgium welcomed Finland into the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF) program alongside the Czech Republic, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. Francken said multinational tanker aircraft would help advance European strategic autonomy while strengthening NATO’s collective capabilities.

Francken said NATO’s priority was ensuring increased defense spending translates into concrete military capabilities through closer industrial cooperation among allies.

“If we want to rearm our armies on time and cost-effectively, more industrial cooperation is needed. Not just within Europe, but also between Europe, the US, and Turkey,” he said, calling for a “Made in NATO” approach to overcome protectionist barriers and accelerate rearmament efforts.

Francken also highlighted the ongoing “Europeanization” of NATO, saying stronger European armed forces would enable the continent to assume a larger share of the alliance’s responsibilities while maintaining transatlantic cohesion.

“For some capabilities (think air defense, satellite communications, tanker and radar aircraft), Europe still depends on the US for now. That’s why we need to fill those gaps more quickly,” he wrote.

ANEWS wp:paragraph