France, Belgium To Reinforce Bilateral Defense Partnership On Land Mobility

France and Belgium signed a statement of intent on Thursday in a bid to reinforce their bilateral defence partnership in the context of high terror risks in the two countries.

French Defence Minister, Florence Parly and her Belgian counterpart, Steven Vandeput, signed the document to cement cooperation in defence, mainly on land mobility, the French Defence Ministry said in a statement.

“This signature opens up prospects for cooperation between France and Belgium on a wide spectrum of armored vehicles: acquisition of equipment, research and development, operational cooperation, training,” it added.

“It is a symbolic example of concrete projects between two member states: a pragmatic and effective bilateral partnership that will contribute to advancing the defence (of) Europe,” it said.

Following negotiations between concerned military staff from both sides, an inter-governmental agreement will be signed in 2018, according to the document.