Gordon Kent

🇹🇷 (EN/FR) Five days in Turkey (Istanbul and Ankara) for the first Belgian trade mission led by Her Majesty Queen Mathilde @MonarchieBe, the largest (428 participants) ever organised in that country. Turkey is our fifth-largest trading partner and we are the eighth-largest investor there. Turkey is undoubtedly a member of the European family. It is a strategic hub for energy matters, an ally within NATO (with the second-largest army after the US) and a key player in the security of Europe’s south-eastern flank. Beyond strengthening our economic cooperation, this mission has helped to bring our political relations closer together. It provided an opportunity for meetings at the highest level: President Erdoğan, Vice-President Yilmaz and numerous ministers, including my counterpart in Foreign Affairs, @HakanFidan, to discuss major international issues (the Middle East, the Strait of Hormuz, Ukraine…) as well as our bilateral relations and those with the EU. It was also an opportunity to reiterate that we must diversify our partners and bring the Turkish and European economies closer together, given the immense commercial potential this offers. To this end, the Customs Union deserves to be modernised: we cannot do business in 2026 under a framework signed thirty years ago... it would be paradoxical not to step up our cooperation with our immediate neighbours, at the risk of maintaining a relationship of dependence on geopolitical powers located much further away. We highlighted the strengths of our companies in the port and logistics, biopharmaceuticals and healthcare, energy transition, digitalisation, Industry 5.0, defence and aerospace sectors. This mission also provided an opportunity to discover Turkey’s impressive industrial base, particularly in the defence industry. Around forty new commercial agreements and partnerships were signed, bringing this highly strategic mission to a successful close, during which no issue was left unaddressed. —— Cinq jours en Turquie (Istanbul et Ankara) pour la première mission économique belge sous la conduite de Sa Majesté la Reine Mathilde, la plus grande (428 participants) jamais organisée dans ce pays. La Turquie est notre 5e partenaire commercial et nous y sommes le 8e investisseur. La Turquie, c'est incontestablement un membre de la famille européenne. Hub stratégique pour les questions énergétiques, allié au sein de l’Otan (2e plus grande armée après USA) et pour la sécurité du flanc sud-est européen. Au delà du renforcement de notre coopération économique, cette mission a permis de rapprocher nos relations politiques. Ce fut l’occasion de rencontres au plus haut niveau : le Président Erdoğan, le Vice-Président Yilmaz ainsi que de très nombreux ministres dont mon homologue aux Affaires étrangères Fidan pour un échange sur les grands enjeux internationaux (Moyen-Orient, détroit d'Ormuz, Ukraine…) ainsi que sur nos relations bilatérales et avec l’UE. L’occasion aussi de rappeler que nous devons diversifier nos partenaires et rapprocher les économies turque et européenne au vu de l’immense potentiel commercial que cela offre. À cet effet, l’Union douanière mérite d’être modernisée: on ne fait pas du business en 2026 avec un cadre signé trente ans auparavant... ce serait paradoxal de ne pas intensifier notre coopération avec nos voisins directs, au risque de maintenir des relations de dépendance vis-à-vis de puissances géopolitiques situées bien plus loin. Nous avons mis en avant les atouts de nos entreprises dans les secteurs portuaire et logistique, biopharma et santé, transition énergétique, digitalisation, industrialisation 5.0, défense et aérospatial. Cette mission a également permis de découvrir l’impressionnant tissu industriel turc, notamment dans l’industrie de défense. Environ 40 nouveaux accords commerciaux et partenariats ont été signés, clôturant en beauté cette mission très stratégique, durant laquelle aucune question n’a été éludée. @BelgiumMFA

NEW: Canada weighs buying Turkish drones it sanctioned in 2019 • Ottawa's drone interest reflects a wider defence procurement shift as Carney prepares for an October visit to Turkey middleeasteye.net/news/canada-we…

@FionaMullenCY TR is not "messing" with anyone's EEZ. GR is seeking to extend its: in the face of absolute, categoric refusal by TR. And as to TR's size - and geography and capabilities: any strategies ignoring these are delusional. Revealing a typically EU ineptitude for the geopolitical game

I do get the feeling that Turkey somehow lost the knowledge of how the geopolitical game is played, especially in Europe. Its response of “we are big so you MUST include us” and “if not we will mess with your EEZ again!” only results in exclusion for even longer. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@SamuelJsdv Er... we blame both. And Germany and the EU apparat too. As well as the war-mongering zionist genocidaires all of these parties seem intent on enabling.

#US 🇺🇸 supplies F35s to #Greece 🇬🇷; helps construct Alexandroupoli as a logistics hub with security components (circumventing 🇹🇷 #Türkiye); while not selling F35s to Ankara & supporting #Israel 🇮🇱 in #Iran 🇮🇷. But it’s always easier to blame #France 🇫🇷

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Israel: Israel is being described by everyone as the elephant in the room. At a time when everyone is coming together to talk about peace, diplomacy, dialogue, and solutions, we see Israel pursuing a policy of further escalating all problems through violence and expansionism. This is no longer only a regional security issue. The policies Israel is pursuing have now become a global security issue.

Türkiye’s technology debate is becoming deeper than a discussion about innovation or defense industries. It is evolving into a civilizational debate about sovereignty, cognition and human agency in the age of AI. My column in Daily Sabah dailysabah.com/opinion/column…

@MarcPierini1 @Carnegie_Europe @CarnegieEndow "Fourth, Iran and its proxies launched powerful attacks against Israel, while Israel and the United States unleashed massive offensives on Iranian territory." Risible. And no mention of Israel's genocidal irredentism either.

Relations between #Europe and #Turkey in the defense sector are obviously important nowadays. They are growing fast, though not via a grand bargain agreement. There a deep reasons why, on both sides. @Carnegie_Europe @CarnegieEndow carnegieendowment.org/europe/posts/2…

@hepdurgunsu @bariscanyazici @GRLFRA Carnegie tarnishes its credibility by retaining Pierini, he just chorusing NeoCon captured EU's justificatory rhetoric. FI how he intentionally describes Iran's retaliation to US/Zio murders & aggression as "attacks", while deliberately obscuring the timeline of that conflict.

@bariscanyazici @GRLFRA Marc Pierini gibi adamlar kariyerlerini buraya parmak sallamak üzerine kurdular. Aynı insanların ağırlıklı olduğu bir kadrodan bu paradigma değişimini göremeyeceğiz. Bisikletle işe gidip gelen insanların yolsuzluğu da bu işte. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Yazıya göre Türkiye Avrupa savunmasının dışında kalamayacak kadar önemli, içine tam alınamayacak kadar da güvensiz görülüyor. Avrupa’nın Türkiye’ye bakışı artık stratejik akıldan çok konforlu bir ikiyüzlülüğe benziyor. Bir yandan Avrupa güvenliği tartışılırken Türkiye’nin coğrafyası, ordusu, savunma sanayii, Karadeniz ve Orta Doğu’daki ağırlığı yok sayılamıyor. Diğer yandan aynı Avrupa, Türkiye’yi masaya tam ortak olarak oturtmamak için her dosyayı siyasi şartlılıkla kilitlemeye çalışıyor. Sonuçta ortaya garip bir denklem çıkıyor: Türkiye’nin kapasitesi isteniyor, ama Türkiye’nin öznesi istenmiyor. Avrupa’nın yaklaşımı basit, Türk drone’u lazım, Türk üretim kapasitesi lazım, NATO’nun güneydoğu kanadındaki Türk askeri lazım, Karadeniz’de denge lazım, göç yönetimi lazım, enerji koridorları lazım; ama karar masasında Türkiye’ye eşit muamele yok. Bu, stratejik ortaklık değil, seçici faydacılık. Daha açık söylemek gerekirse Avrupa Türkiye’yi güvenlik mimarisine entegre etmek istemiyor Türkiye’nin savunma sanayii kapasitesini kendi açıklarını kapatmak için kullanmak istiyor. Baykar-Leonardo, Eurofighter, Hürjet-Airbus veya benzeri anlaşmalar bu yüzden önemli. Bunlar Avrupa’nın Türkiye’ye güvenmeye başladığını değil, Avrupa’nın kendi savunma açığını Türkiye’siz kapatamayacağını gösteriyor. Avrupa hâlâ Türkiye’yi 1990’ların aday ülke psikolojisiyle okumaya çalışıyor. Oysa karşısındaki ülke artık sadece pazar, tampon bölge veya NATO’nun ileri karakolu değil. Kendi İHA-SİHA ekosistemi olan, savaş tecrübesi yüksek, savunma ihracatı büyüyen, Karadeniz’den Körfez’e kadar sahada karşılığı olan bir aktör var. Avrupa bunu görüyor ama siyasi olarak kabul etmek istemiyor. Buradaki çelişki çok net. Avrupa, Rusya tehdidinden bahsederken Türkiye’nin jeopolitik değerini hatırlıyor. Ukrayna savaşı uzadığında Türkiye’nin Boğazlar rejimi, Karadeniz dengesi ve savunma üretimi önemli oluyor. Orta Doğu karıştığında Türkiye’nin askeri kapasitesi ve diplomatik kanalları akla geliyor. Göç baskısı arttığında Ankara ile anlaşma aranıyor. Ama mesele Avrupa savunma fonları, karar mekanizmaları veya kurumsal eşitlik olunca Türkiye yeniden “sorunlu ortak” kategorisine itiliyor. Çünkü Avrupa Türkiye’ye ortak gibi değil, ihtiyaç duyduğu anda kullanılan ama karar anında dışlanan bir aktör gibi davranıyor. Bugün Avrupa’nın savunma açığı var. Mühimmat üretiminde, drone kapasitesinde, hızlı ölçeklenebilir savunma sanayiinde ve sahaya uyumlu askeri teknolojilerde ciddi eksikleri var. Türkiye ise tam bu alanlarda yükseliyor. Avrupa’nın rahatsızlığı da burada başlıyor. Çünkü Türkiye artık sadece güvenlik tüketicisi değil, güvenlik üreticisi. Bu da eski hiyerarşiyi bozuyor. Bu yüzden Avrupa’nın Türkiye politikasındaki asıl mesele demokrasi, hukuk veya teknik standartlar değil. Bunlar elbette önemli başlıklar ama arka plandaki temel sorun güç dengesi. Avrupa, Türkiye’nin stratejik değerini kabul ediyor ama bu değerin Türkiye’ye siyasi kaldıraç kazandırmasını istemiyor.

Baykar Chairman of the Board and Chief Technology Officer Selcuk Bayraktar: Today we see that the greatest threat to our independence is not conventional armies amassed at our borders, but techno-capitalist global domination infiltrating our supply chains, data centers, and directly into the devices in our pockets. This domination does not arrive like the dictatorships of the past through brute force. It enters our lives as a voluntary captivity through a system that addicts billions of people like a narcotic. Consider a simple example: the algorithms behind today’s social media and video platforms are not designed to show you what is true or beneficial. The AI operating in the background analyzes our neurological weaknesses and optimizes anger, fear, and hedonistic content to keep us on the screen for ten seconds longer.

📌 Baykar Chairman Selcuk Bayraktar speaks at the 'Vision Speech' program during SAHA EXPO 2026 in Istanbul: 📌 'We have recently seen in certain states’ acts of terrorism that bombs infiltrated into supply chains can turn the phones in our pockets, smart watches, and even headphones into weapons used to kill people 📌 Today, giant technology monopolies seek to rule the world almost like techno-feudal lordships 📌 Recently, a manifesto-like text was also published. In that text, we encountered a dark mentality that sees war, peace and human life merely as optimization problems and algorithmic outputs, removing conscience, morality and the human spirit from the equation 📌 For them, the world may consist of nothing more than a simulation processed on their servers or a computer algorithm. However, humanity, which they seek to imprison within a web, is far more than a mere source of data 📌 Against these arrogant and dark manifestos, we must put forward our own roadmap centered on justice, compassion, morality and human dignity”

Top Libyan military officials from rival governments were hosted in Istanbul by Turkish Defense Minister Guler Lt General Saddam Hafter, Deputy Commander General of the Libyan National Army and Libyan Defense Minister Major General Abdusselam Zubi

Fransızca yayın yapan Afrik haber platformundan Cezayir Cumhurbaşkanı Tebbun'un Türkiye ziyaretine ilişkin ilginç analiz: ➖"6-8 Mayıs tarihleri arasında Türkiye’ye giden Tebbun, son yıllarda iki ülke arasında belirgin şekilde gelişen ekonomik ilişkileri güçlendirmeye geliyor. Ancak Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ile yapılması beklenen anlaşmaların arkasında, görüşmeye damga vuran başka bir dosya daha bulunuyor: Cezayir ve Türkiye'nin, Birleşik Arap Emirlikleri’nin Kuzey Afrika, Sahel ve Sudan’daki olumsuz etkisinden duyduğu endişe."

Turkish-German business works better than Turkish-German politics. My roommate in the US was German. My first client in Türkiye was Turkish-German. Some of my closest global friends have been Germans. Over time, I saw the same pattern in many rooms: when Turks and Germans move from politics to business, the conversation becomes practical. Germany brings engineering discipline, industrial depth and institutional memory. Türkiye brings speed, flexibility and execution under uncertainty. We saw this again last week in our panel on innovation corridors between North Rhine-Westphalia and Türkiye at @deikiletisim . But goodwill is not infrastructure. Business needs investment access, clear rules of origin and mobility for innovators, entrepreneurs and technical talent. Türkiye and Europe need a more honest business conversation: not just about values or geopolitics, but about the mechanisms that allow companies, engineers and investors to build together.

Erdogan 🇹🇷 brise le protocole turc et descend PERSONNELLEMENT sur le tarmac accueillir le Président Tebboune🇩🇿 ✅Dans la tradition turque #Erdoğan attend ses hôtes au Palais. ✅Aujourd’hui à Ankara : il s’est déplacé lui-même pour réserver à #Tebboune un accueil exceptionnel avec garde d’honneur et hymnes. ✅Message clair au monde : L’Algérie est une puissance régionale respectée qui négocie d’égal à égal. L’#Algérie monte ..Tebboune élève son rang.

@HHampikyan In fairness, we're no slouches in the shitty urban planning / hideous architectural design field either. There's nowhere we can't ruin by thoughtless development.

Did the Greeks really burn glorious Salonica to the ground in 1917 - rewrite history - just to end up with THIS👇🏻? Seriously?

@SamuelJsdv If FR has any real interest in the EMed, other than recklessly stirring a pot it doesn't actually have much to put in, it's Lebanon. But its silence about the zionist landgrab in its former mandate is deafening.

Why France 🇫🇷🇪🇺 needs 🇹🇷 Türkiye less (compared to other Europeans)👇 🇫🇷: 2nd arms exporter globally 🇫🇷: mid-power competes 🇫🇷: nuclear power 🇫🇷: unsure on “diluted EU” 🇫🇷: East Med security 🇫🇷: has pop. growth 🇫🇷: has high tech/start ups 🇫🇷: has Egypt-Morocco supply chains

@SamuelJsdv The only reason that there's anything which may lead to peace is that AZ wrested back the 7 raions in 2020 & NK later on. And that TR was unswerving in its support of AZ. The US has nothing to do with it. The EU less so. They are endorsements only. Nothing more.

@gordon_kent Only reason there is a “pre peace plan” is cause of US. Now let’s see if TRIPP actually materialises; to be seen if US willingness continues, or not.

President Erdoğan 🇹🇷 not letting President Macron 🇫🇷🇪🇺 cross the 🇦🇲🇹🇷 border is emblematic of Türkiye-France difficulties. The key to EU-Türkiye 🇪🇺🇹🇷 relations lay in Paris and Ankara. Everyone keeps saying EU needs Türkiye more than vice versa; but that’s not true for France.

The Grand Illusion of Outsourced Sovereignty open.substack.com/pub/agonmag/p/…

Türkiye has developed the geography, military capacity, diplomatic access and defense-industrial instruments to shape security outcomes across multiple theatres simultaneously. The question is no longer whether Europe will accommodate Türkiye within its emerging defense architecture. The question is whether European institutions have the conceptual range to understand the kind of strategic actor Türkiye has become