Japanese Defense Minister Gen Nakatani is in Ankara to meet with officials to discuss ways to improve defense and military cooperation between Japan and Turkey.
His Tuesday meeting with his counterpart, Yasar Guler, is part of a weeklong regional tour to strengthen the East Asian country’s relations with its allies. Nakatani, the first Japanese defense leader to visit Turkey, also has stops in Djibouti and Jordan.
A diplomatic source disclosed ahead of the event that several possible topics that will have been covered in the talks include how the countries can expand cooperation on military equipment and technology development, as well as their views on regional development.
“They will [also] hold inspections regarding drones, but an agreement is not expected,” the source told Reuters.
According to Turkish defense ministry officials, Nakatani is also scheduled to tour several military equipment manufacturing sites on Wednesday. He is scheduled to visit Turkish Aerospace Industries, navy shipyards and drone maker Baykar.
Nakatani’s tour comes as Tokyo explores the possibility of integrating drones into its ground, air and naval forces. Turkish drone manufacturers have been supplying unmanned systems to several nations, including Ukraine.
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