11.05.2026 14:13
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Vahdettin Mansion. During the visit, President Erdogan stated that Turkey and Belgium have cooperation potential in many areas from commercial relations to the defense industry, from energy to agriculture, and that they will continue to take steps to improve relations.
President Erdoğan met with Queen Mathilde of Belgium, who came to Türkiye as part of the 'Economic Mission' program, at the Vahdettin Pavilion in Üsküdar.
President Erdoğan's wife Emine Erdoğan and Presidential Chief Foreign Policy and Security Advisor Ambassador Akif Çağatay Kılıç also attended the reception.
"REGIONAL AND GLOBAL ISSUES DISCUSSED"
The Directorate of Communications of the Presidency made the following statement regarding the visit:
"Our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Vahdettin Pavilion. During the meeting, Türkiye-Belgium bilateral relations, as well as regional and global issues, were discussed. President Erdoğan stated that Türkiye and Belgium have cooperation potential in many areas from trade relations to the defense industry, from energy to agriculture, and that they will continue to take steps to improve relations.
"RECENT DEVELOPMENTS HAVE ONCE AGAIN DEMONSTRATED THE GEOPOLITICAL IMPORTANCE OF TÜRKİYE-EU RELATIONS"
Our President stated that the recent developments in our region have once again demonstrated the geopolitical importance of Türkiye-European Union relations, and that among the areas that need urgent progress until our full membership, updating the Customs Union according to new conditions is a priority, and that our participation in the EU's defense initiatives is in our mutual interest.
President Erdoğan pointed out Türkiye's prominent diplomatic initiatives on the international stage, noting that we will host the NATO Leaders' Summit in Ankara on July 7-8 this year and COP31 from November 9-20, and that green energy transformation constitutes one of the important areas of cooperation with Belgium, adding that Türkiye's installed renewable energy capacity ranks among the top in Europe.
Our President stated during the meeting that he hopes the Queen of Belgium's contacts with Turkish business circles will yield concrete results."
A FIRST IN 14 YEARS
The high-level delegation from Belgium after 14 years includes Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Maxime Prévot, Defense Minister Theo Francken, Brussels Regional Prime Minister Boris Dilliés, Flemish Region Prime Minister Matthias Diependaele, and Walloon Region Deputy Prime Minister Pierre-Yves Jeholet. The delegation is accompanied by 428 private sector representatives. Mathilde is expected to have contacts until May 14.