ISTANBUL, Monday, May 11, 2026 (WNP): President of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Vahdettin Mansion on Monday and discussed bilateral relations as well as regional and global developments.

During the meeting, President Erdoğan said Türkiye and Belgium possessed significant potential for cooperation in various sectors including trade, defence industry, energy and agriculture, adding that efforts to further strengthen bilateral relations would continue.

The Turkish president said recent developments in the region had once again highlighted the geopolitical importance of relations between Türkiye and the European Union.

He stressed that updating the Customs Union in line with current conditions was among the important areas requiring swift progress during the process leading to Türkiye’s full membership in the European Union.

Erdoğan also underlined that Türkiye’s participation in the European Union’s defence initiatives would serve the mutual interests of all parties.

Referring to Türkiye’s growing diplomatic role internationally, Erdoğan said the country would host the NATO Leaders’ Summit in Ankara on July 7-8 and COP31 from November 9 to 20 this year.

The president further noted that green energy transition was one of the important areas of cooperation with Belgium and said Türkiye ranked among Europe’s leading countries in installed renewable energy capacity.

During the meeting, Erdoğan also expressed hope that Queen Mathilde’s engagements with Turkish business circles would produce concrete outcomes.