ties<\/a> as well as regional and global issues, according to T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Communications Directorate. Turkish first lady Emine Erdo\u011fan was also present at the gathering.<\/p>\n\u201cPresident Erdo\u011fan also underlined that T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s participation in the EU\u2019s defense initiatives is in the mutual interest of all sides,\u201d the directorate said in a readout.<\/p>\n
Erdo\u011fan further said T\u00fcrkiye and Belgium hold significant potential for cooperation in a broad range of fields, including trade, the defense industry, energy and agriculture, adding that efforts to further strengthen bilateral ties would continue.<\/p>\n
The president noted that the green energy transition represents an important area of cooperation with Belgium, positioning T\u00fcrkiye among Europe\u2019s leading countries in installed renewable energy capacity.<\/p>\n
During the meeting, Erdo\u011fan also expressed hope that Queen Mathilde\u2019s contacts with Turkish business circles would produce concrete outcomes. He also said updating the customs union deal is \u201ca key area necessitating swift progress\u201d on the path toward Ankara\u2019s full EU membership.<\/p>\n
The Belgian queen is leading a trade mission to T\u00fcrkiye alongside a high-level delegation aimed at boosting bilateral economic and commercial cooperation.<\/p>\n
The delegation accompanying the queen includes Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, Defense Minister Theo Franckeni, Brussels-Capital Region Minister-President Boris Dillies, Flemish Region Minister-President Matthias Diependaele, Walloon Region Vice-President Pierre-Yves Jeholet and over 400 private sector representatives.<\/p>\n
The visit takes place from May 10 to 14, and it is expected to demonstrate the shared willingness of both countries to further strengthen T\u00fcrkiye-Belgium ties, particularly through the diversification of cooperation areas and the comprehensive expansion of economic and trade relations, according to Turkish Foreign Ministry sources.<\/p>\n
During a business forum earlier in the day, officials highlighted growing economic ties between the two countries and opportunities for broader trade and investment cooperation.<\/p>\n
Organized by T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Foreign Economic Relations Board (DE\u0130K), the forum was attended by Belgium\u2019s Queen Mathilde as well as a high-level delegation.<\/p>\n
Speakers emphasized the importance of modernizing the T\u00fcrkiye-EU customs union and T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s role as a production and logistics hub for European markets.<\/p>\n
Trade Minister \u00d6mer Bolat said reliable partnerships are increasingly important amid global supply chain disruptions and geopolitical tensions.<\/p>\n
He noted that bilateral trade between the two countries reached $9.3 billion last year and said officials aim to raise the figure to $15 billion in a sustainable and balanced manner.<\/p>\n
Bolat said priorities include strengthening the legal and business framework between the two countries through agreements on investment protection, investment promotion and the avoidance of double taxation, ensuring transparency, predictability and security for investors.<\/p>\n
Belgium previously organized a trade mission visit to T\u00fcrkiye in 2012. The mission at the time was led by King Philippe, then crown prince, while Queen Mathilde accompanied him as Princess Mathilde.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ISTANBUL Turkish first lady Emine Erdo\u011fan, Belgium\u2019s Queen Mathilde (C), and President Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan. Developments in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15157,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,10155,10156],"class_list":{"0":"post-15156","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-belgium","8":"tag-belgium","9":"tag-erdogan","10":"tag-ties"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@be\/116558616487251001","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15156"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15156\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"Erdo\u011fan](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/6a01caa8c6079cf4d37bf4a1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n