Türkiye, France sign defense cooperation road map

Türkiye and France signed a defense cooperation road map as part of military cooperation activities between the two countries, the Turkish National Defense Ministry said Saturday.

In a statement on Turkish social media platform NSosyal, the ministry said Director General for Defense and Security Lt. Gen. Ilkay Altindag held meetings with French Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Armed Forces Alice Rufo, the French president's Military Chief of Staff Gen. Vincent Giraud, and Director General for International Relations and Strategy Guillaume Ollagnier.

The meetings addressed bilateral defense and military relations, strategic dialogue, and opportunities to further develop existing cooperation, while reaffirming the importance of maintaining regular and results-oriented contacts.

In this context, the two countries signed the defense cooperation road map, marking an important step toward further developing defense cooperation between Türkiye and France and strengthening strategic dialogue, the ministry said.

"The signing demonstrates that the mutually positive messages recently conveyed by the leaders of the two countries have translated into a meaningful and concrete step of cooperation in the field of defense," the statement said.

"The road map aims to strengthen strategic dialogue through regular and results-oriented contacts and further advance cooperation based on the mutual benefit of the two countries," it added.