Joint Statement on the Belgian Economic Mission to Türkiye, 13 May 2026

The Belgian Economic Mission to the Republic of Türkiye, led by Her Majesty the Queen of the Belgians, on behalf of His Majesty the King, took place on 10-14 May 2026 in İstanbul and Ankara.

His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President of the Republic of Türkiye, and First Lady Emine Erdoğan hosted Her Majesty the Queen in İstanbul.

The Economic Mission aimed to strengthen bilateral trade and investment between Türkiye and Belgium, with a focus on strategic sectors such as energy, aerospace and defense industry, logistics and transportation, digital transformation and industry 4.0, and life sciences and pharma.

The Republic of Türkiye welcomed the high-level participation from Belgium, bringing together over 400 representatives of the Belgian federal and regional authorities, companies, federations, chambers of commerce and academic institutions.

A number of sectoral seminars and structured B2B/B2G meetings across priority sectors took place. Bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding, providing updated frameworks for cooperation and facilitate closer engagement in areas of mobility, defense/defense industry cooperation, social protection and safety of agri-food products were signed.

As long-standing partners and NATO Allies, Turkish and Belgian sides noted with pleasure the momentum in their relations, facilitated by joint efforts and a shared interest in international peace and stability in view of regional and global developments.

Both sides acknowledged the deep-rooted relations between Türkiye and Belgium, and reaffirmed the contributions of the Belgian-Turkish community to political, economic, cultural and social ties.

Both sides also noted that Türkiye-Belgium economic relations continue to benefit from the broader framework of Türkiye-EU relations, including the 1963 Ankara Agreement and the Türkiye-EU Customs Union. In this vein, they recognized the importance of the Türkiye-EU relationship and expressed support for constructive engagement, including discussions on the modernization of the Customs Union and continued facilitation of business and people-to-people mobility, in accordance with EU frameworks and benchmarks.

In addition to strengthening economic cooperation, the Economic Mission constituted an important step in building more structured and closer political relations between the Republic of Türkiye and the Kingdom of Belgium.

Ankara, 13 May 2026