Belgium Brings 450-Strong Mission to Türkiye as Erdoğan Pushes EU Defence Inclusion
By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Belgian Queen Mathilde at the Vahdettin Mansion in Istanbul on May 11 and told her that Türkiye's participation in the European Union's defence initiatives served the mutual interests of all sides, while calling for swift progress on updating the Türkiye-EU Customs Union as part of Ankara's full membership path.
The meeting opened the substantive phase of Belgium's economic mission to Türkiye, the first at the royal level in 14 years, running from May 10 to 14 across Istanbul and Ankara. The delegation brought more than 400 business representatives, alongside Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken, and the prime ministers of the Brussels, Flemish and Walloon regions.
Türkiye's Communications Directorate said the two sides discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments, and that Erdoğan expressed hope that the queen's contacts with Turkish business circles would yield concrete results. Erdoğan also noted that Türkiye and Belgium held cooperation potential across trade, the defence industry, energy and agriculture.
The visit's defence dimension was underscored by Queen Mathilde's tour of Baykar's Özdemir Bayraktar National Technology Center in Istanbul on May 11. Baykar Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar and Chief Executive Haluk Bayraktar hosted the delegation and presented the company's unmanned combat aerial vehicle platforms. Belgium's ambassador to Türkiye, Hendrik Van de Velde, had flagged before the visit that Belgium needed to strengthen its defence industry and that Türkiye held "valuable knowledge and experience" in the field. Bosphorus News reported on the mission's full sectoral scope, including defence, green energy and logistics, here, as the delegation arrived in Istanbul on May 10.
At the Belgium-Türkiye Business Forum held at Swissotel The Bosphorus, Prévot, Francken and Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat signed a joint declaration on developing bilateral trade relations. Prévot said Queen Mathilde's presence showed the importance Belgium placed on its relationship with Türkiye. "This is not a small detail," he said. Bolat called for Belgian support in modernising the Customs Union between Türkiye and the EU, describing transparency, predictability and investor protection as the pillars of Ankara's investment offer.
Erdoğan's message to the Belgian delegation sat inside a broader posture he has been developing toward Brussels over the past two weeks. On May 4, speaking after a cabinet meeting, he said the EU's "strategic myopia" toward Türkiye "unfortunately persists, quite visibly," and that "Europe needs Türkiye more than Türkiye needs Europe, and this need is expected to grow even further in the future." On May 9, marking Europe Day, he said a European architecture that did not include Türkiye "will remain incomplete and vulnerable in managing crises."
Belgium's bilateral goods and services exports to Türkiye totalled 6.5 billion euros annually before the mission. Belgium's stated priority sectors were energy transition, ports and logistics, health and pharmaceuticals, aerospace and defence, and digitalisation. The Ankara leg of the mission continues through May 14 with additional government meetings.
***Sources: Türkiye Presidency Directorate of Communications, May 11, 2026. Belga News Agency, May 11, 2026. Anadolu Agency. TRT World. Türkiye Presidency Directorate of Communications cabinet statement, May 4, 2026. Türkiye Presidency Europe Day statement, May 9, 2026.