Belgian Defence Minister Theo Francken has said Türkiye is an important ally for NATO and Europe should benefit from Turkish technology in defence production.
“I think it will be a very important summit,” Francken told Anadolu ahead of the July 7-8 NATO meeting in Ankara.
He said NATO has faced difficult times recently, and therefore unity is more important than ever.
“There was discussion about the Middle East, about the war against the Iranian regime, we had some tensions on opening the military bases for American aircraft, we had some discussions about stepping up on defence spending,” Francken said. “So, yeah, of course, it was not the easiest year for NATO.”
He stressed the need to work together on defence investment, the NATO Force Model, increasing production, air defence and new technologies. “United we stand, divided we fall and I think that is the most important: show unity,” he said.
Asked about his expectations from the summit, Francken said: “I’m looking forward to go to Ankara because the warm hospitality of the Turkish people is so, so, so nice.” He said he would also attend the NATO Summit Defence Industry Forum.
He said the second priority should be technology, air defence and higher industrial production, while the third is supporting Ukraine.
‘NATO 3.0’ vision
About the “NATO 3.0” vision expected to take shape at the Ankara meeting, Francken said it means Belgium and European allies must assume more responsibility.
“It means that Belgium and European allies need to step up, invest highly in defence and be there to take the security architecture of the European continent into our own hands,” he said.
“That is actually the challenge and that’s what we need to do,” he added.
On the possibility of the US reducing its military contribution in Europe and Europe filling the gaps, Francken said NATO needs strong planning. “What we need to do is have good planning, NATO planning. The SACEUR, Supreme Allied Commander, is doing this,” he said. “It’s important that we really get that going, have good plans and follow those plans.”
Francken said Europe must close defence capability gaps as the US shifts military resources toward Asia-Pacific.
He said Belgium stands ready to contribute more to NATO, including fighter jets, refuelling aircraft, drones and surveillance assets.
Learning from Turkish technology
Francken also addressed the contributions of Türkiye, the host country of the summit, to NATO.
“Türkiye is a very important ally. It’s a long-standing ally. It’s a country that is very important within NATO,” he said. “So, yes, we need Türkiye within NATO and I hope that we can work very well together.”
Francken said he heard the summit would be “organised 100 percent super, super good,” and that he was looking forward to experiencing Turkish hospitality again.
“So, yes, I love Ankara, I love Türkiye, so I’m really looking forward to be there,” he said.
Francken called for Türkiye to be included in future EU defence financing programmes, saying its exclusion from SAFE-I was a mistake. Praising Türkiye's defence industry after touring the TCG Burgazada corvette, he said Europe could learn a great deal from the country's advanced military technology.
Türkiye 'a very important ally'
He said Türkiye must be part of this process because it is an important ally.
“We need to work together. We have adversaries, enemies that are getting stronger every day, so we need to work together to stand strong and defend our values,” Francken said.
Noting that Belgium cooperates with Türkiye in many fields, Francken said the two countries carry out many training activities together under the NATO umbrella.
“I think that we can also look to do procurement together, industrial cooperation together,” he said.
The Belgian defence chief also spoke about his country's extensive economic mission to Türkiye last month, saying cooperation continues and new contracts are still being signed.
“We had our economic mission to Türkiye and now still there are contracts coming out,” he said. “So, even months after, you see that the economic mission gives really good results. So, that’s something positive and we go with that flow, we continue.”
