Erdogan: “Developments in our region show the geopolitical importance of Turkey-EU relations”

AA / Istanbul / Mikail Biyikli

President of the Turkiye Republic Recep Tayyip Erdogan said recent developments in the region once again show the geopolitical importance of relations between Turkiye and the European Union (EU).

The Turkish Head of State met on Monday with Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Vahdettin Palace in Istanbul.

During this meeting, Erdogan defended a strengthening of relations between his country and the EU, highlighting the regional geopolitical context

Among the areas requiring rapid progress in the period before full membership, he cited updating the Customs Union to the new conditions.

The Türkiye Presidential Communications Directorate shared a statement regarding President Erdogan’s meeting with Queen Mathilde of Belgium.

The statement said that during the meeting, bilateral relations between Turkey and Belgium as well as regional and global issues were discussed.

President Erdogan assured that Turkey and Belgium have the potential for cooperation in many areas, ranging from trade relations to the defense industry, from energy to agriculture, and that they will continue to take steps to develop these relations.

According to this statement, the Turkish President emphasized that the latest developments in the region once again show the geopolitical importance of Turkiye-EU relations, that among the areas requiring rapid progress while awaiting full membership is the updating of the Customs Union according to the new conditions, and that the participation of the Türkiye in the EU defense initiatives is also an imperative of the common interest.

President Erdogan, highlighting the leading diplomatic initiatives of Türkiye on the international scene, recalled that this year it will host the NATO Leaders’ Summit in Ankara on July 7 and 8, and the COP31 from November 9 to 20, specifying that one of the important areas of cooperation with Belgium is constituted by the transition to green energy, and noted that Türkiye’s installed renewable energy capacity occupies a leading position in Europe.

The Turkish president also hoped that contacts with the Turkish business community would lead to concrete results.

*Translated from Turkish by Tuncay Çakmak