Türkiye and Belgium Sign Defence Industry Letter in Ankara

By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk

Türkiye and Belgium signed a defence industry cooperation letter of intent in Ankara during Belgium's economic mission to Türkiye, adding a military-industrial layer to a visit focused on trade, technology, energy and strategic sectors.

Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler received Belgian Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken with a military ceremony in Ankara on May 13. The two ministers held a closed meeting before the signing of a defence industry cooperation letter of intent between Türkiye's National Defence Ministry, the Presidency of Defence Industries and Belgium's Defence Ministry.

Türkiye's defence industry chief Haluk Görgün and Belgium's National Armaments Director Lt. Gen. Bernard Phaleg attended the signing ceremony, according to Anadolu Agency.

The defence letter came during a 428-member Belgian Economic Mission to Türkiye, which Bosphorus News reported was built around defence, green energy, logistics and digital technologies. The Belgian side said the mission included 194 companies, 17 federations and chambers, and eight universities, with Istanbul and Ankara forming the two main legs of the visit.

Belgium's Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs said the mission focused on five strategic sectors: green and energy transition, aerospace and defence, ports, logistics and transport, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and digital technology. The Belgian statement also said companies from both countries would examine concrete cooperation opportunities in defence.

Francken's own language gave the Ankara signing additional weight. Before the mission, he described Türkiye as "an attractive market of 85 million people and an emerging industrial power." He also said Türkiye served as a bridge to Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, placing the visit inside a wider trade and industrial strategy.

His comments on Türkiye's defence sector were more direct. Francken called Türkiye's defence industry a "role model," pointing to research and development, innovation, production and skilled labour. He said Belgium could "learn a lot" from Türkiye's defence innovation.

The message was reinforced during Francken's visit to Sedef Shipyard, where he said Türkiye was "quietly emerging as a maritime power." He cited Turkish work on submarines, corvettes, frigates, destroyers and aircraft carrier platforms, describing the country's shipbuilding capacity as fast, high-quality and competitive.

The letter of intent does more than mark a bilateral defence contact. It places Belgium's Ankara mission inside a European debate over industrial capacity, procurement pressure and the need for NATO allies to expand production lines at a time of growing security demand.

The defence component also followed the broader political track of the Belgian mission. Bosphorus News covered Queen Mathilde's Ankara agenda with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, EU defence and Customs Union issues, a visit that placed bilateral trade and Türkiye's relationship with European institutions in the same frame.

Belgium is not among Europe's largest defence powers, but its Ankara mission shows how smaller European NATO allies are also looking at Türkiye through practical industrial channels. While EU-level defence debates remain politically difficult, the working file in Ankara is moving through companies, ministries and procurement institutions.

The letter also gives Türkiye another example of European defence engagement outside the more contentious EU framework. Turkish companies have expanded their profile through drones, armoured vehicles, naval platforms, electronics, air defence systems and munitions, while European governments are under pressure to rebuild stockpiles and increase production after years of underinvestment.

For Brussels, the letter creates a formal channel to explore cooperation with a NATO ally whose defence industry has moved from import substitution into export-driven production. For Ankara, it adds another European partner to a defence diplomacy portfolio that increasingly runs through industrial capacity as much as military alignment.

The next stage will depend on whether the letter of intent turns into company-level contracts, joint projects or procurement channels. The political message is already visible: during a major Belgian economic mission, defence industry cooperation was treated as one of the areas where Ankara and Brussels see practical room to work.

***Sources: Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belgian Economic Mission Visit, May 9, 2026. Kingdom of Belgium Federal Public Service Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, Belgian economic mission to Türkiye, May 8, 2026. Anadolu Agency, Turkish and Belgian defense ministers meet in Ankara, May 13, 2026. Anadolu Agency, interview with Belgian Defence and Foreign Trade Minister Theo Francken, May 8, 2026. Anadolu Agency, remarks by Theo Francken after Sedef Shipyard visit, May 12, 2026 and Bosphorus News reporting.