Taking joint steps against terrorism, including intelligence sharing, with Turkey is a must in the fight against terrorism, the Belgian foreign minister has emphasized.
Speaking at a Turkish Business Association (TÖSED) event in Brussels concerning Turkish-Belgian bilateral relations, top Belgian diplomat Didier Reynders said yesterday that the two countries should join forces to better fight terrorism.
Stressing that some complications had occurred on intelligence sharing in the past, Reynders said these problems have been resolved recently.
The Belgian foreign minister's comments came after his recent visit to Turkey on Tuesday, where he met with his Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu. Speaking in a press conference after the meeting, Çavuşoğlu made similar remarks, saying that combating terrorism will prevent all kinds of terrorist attacks regardless of their motivation. "If we are sincere in our fight against terrorism and unite against any kind of terrorism, there will be no similar attacks as in Christchurch [in New Zealand] or Sri Lanka," Çavuşoğlu said.
Reynders also said that Turkey should be included in the European Union, pledging to closely work on the issue if he is elected in the European Parliament elections.
Turkey's journey to become a member of the EU has seen numerous up and downs for 50 years, longer than any other country that has applied for membership in the union. Although EU membership remains a top strategic goal for Turkey, which started in 1963 with the Ankara Agreement, the EU keeps dragging its feet on the process.
The Belgian foreign minister added that Turkey and the EU should increase cooperation in Africa to increase market presence against China on the continent.
