The Turkish navy participated in a NATO maritime training exercise in the Eastern Mediterranean, a statement by the Defense Ministry said Wednesday.

The TCG Salihreis frigate attended the training with Permanent Naval Mission Group 2's ITS Margottini and TCG Göksu frigates, the ministry said.

Turkey has become one of the leading countries that make the most contribution to NATO in terms of its mission, operations and joint budgets.

Turkey joined the military alliance of 29 North American and European countries in 1952. The country has also been providing permanent naval assistance to NATO missions in the Aegean Sea while leading regional initiatives, including the Standing NATO Maritime Group’s (SNMG) activities in the Black Sea region.

Turkey also hosts many NATO initiatives. There is a NATO headquarters in western Izmir province, an air base in southern Adana province, another one in Diyarbakır and a NATO Rapid Deployable Corps in Istanbul. It also hosts the AN/TPY-2 radar in eastern Malatya province as part of the organization’s missile shield project.

Apart from all these, in 2018 alone, Turkey contributed $101 million to the common funding of NATO.