Ankara: Belgium on Tuesday reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening bilateral defense cooperation with Trkiye, 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 Yasar Guler 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.
According to Anadolu Agency, the meeting came as Belgium joined Trkiye, the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, and the Czech Republic in signing a letter of intent on closer cooperation for the A400M military transport aircraft program. Francken highlighted that 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 program alongside several other European nations. Francken noted that multinational tanker aircraft would help advance European strategic autonomy while strengthening NATO's collective capabilities.
Francken emphasized NATO's priority of ensuring increased defense spending translates into concrete military capabilities through closer industrial cooperation among allies. He advocated for a "Made in NATO" approach to overcome protectionist barriers and accelerate rearmament efforts, stressing the need for industrial cooperation not just within Europe, but also between Europe, the US, and Turkey.
Highlighting the ongoing "Europeanization" of NATO, Francken mentioned that stronger European armed forces would enable the continent to assume a larger share of the alliance's responsibilities while maintaining transatlantic cohesion. He noted that Europe still depends on the US for certain capabilities like air defense and satellite communications and called for these gaps to be filled more quickly.