Ankara eyes renewed EU path as Erdoğan hosts Belgian royal visit PHOTO

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that recent geopolitical shifts have underscored the importance of closer relations between Türkiye and the European Union, calling for rapid progress on updating the Customs Union as part of Ankara’s long-standing EU accession process.

Erdogan made the remarks during a meeting in Istanbul with Belgian Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Anadolu Agency reports.

The discussions covered bilateral relations between Türkiye and Belgium as well as regional and global developments, Türkiye’s Communications Directorate said.

“President Erdogan also underlined that Türkiye’s participation in the EU’s defense initiatives is in the mutual interest of all sides,” the statement said.

Erdogan stressed that Türkiye and Belgium have significant potential for cooperation across multiple sectors, including trade, defence industry, energy and agriculture, adding that efforts to deepen bilateral ties would continue.

He also highlighted Türkiye’s expanding diplomatic role, noting that the country will host the NATO leaders’ summit in Ankara on July 7–8 and the COP31 climate conference on November 9–20 this year.

The Turkish president said the green energy transition presents an important area for cooperation with Belgium, pointing out that Türkiye is among Europe’s leading countries in installed renewable energy capacity.

During the meeting, Erdogan also expressed hope that Queen Mathilde’s engagements with Turkish business representatives would yield concrete results.

By Vafa Guliyeva