Published December 02,2025

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Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will attend the NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting on Wednesday at the Alliance’s headquarters in Brussels.

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Fidan is also expected to hold bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the gathering with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas, EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos, as well as UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper and Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares, among other counterparts.

The Brussels gathering will review the outcomes of the NATO Summit held in The Hague in June and serve as the first opportunity for foreign ministers to exchange views on preparations for the 2026 NATO Summit, which Türkiye will host in Ankara on July 7-8.

The NATO Foreign Ministers Meeting will convene in two sessions.

The first session, attended exclusively by the foreign ministers of NATO member states, is expected to focus on priority issues on the Alliance’s agenda.

Topics will include recent developments in Euro-Atlantic security, particularly the Russia-Ukraine war as well as NATO’s eastern flank, the Alliance’s policies toward its southern neighborhood, the situation in the Balkans, and the impact of the Asia-Pacific on Euro-Atlantic security.

During this session, Minister Fidan is expected to highlight Türkiye’s contributions to the Alliance and European security through its strong, modern military capabilities and defense industry. He will also brief the allies on preparations for the NATO Ankara Summit; and emphasize that efforts to strengthen NATO’s European pillar must remain complementary and avoid duplication.

He is also expected to underline that EU defense initiatives aimed at this goal should remain open to all NATO allies, including those that are not EU members.

In the session, Minister Fidan is also expected to underline the importance of defense industry cooperation and reiterate Türkiye’s expectation that all barriers among allies in this field be removed. He will also highlight Türkiye’s contributions to NATO missions and operations, including assuming command of the NATO-led Kosovo Force (KFOR) for the second time this October, as the Alliance’s second-largest contributor.

The second and final session of the NATO-Ukraine Council is expected to convene, with the participation of Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaja Kallas.

The session will address the situation in the Russia-Ukraine war, efforts to end the conflict, and the ongoing reform processes in Ukraine.

In this session, Minister Fidan is expected to reaffirm Türkiye’s support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity while also sharing information regarding Türkiye’s assistance to Ukraine. Fidan is anticipated to emphasize the need to give diplomacy a chance to end the war and achieve a just and lasting peace and to outline Türkiye’s views on recent developments, while also stressing that Türkiye stands ready to contribute to any peace-oriented process.

Published December 02,2025

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Turkish firm Fergani Space’s fully homegrown orbital transfer vehicle (OTV), the FGN-TUG-S01, began its mission in space, according to a recent statement from Baykar.

Türkiye’s first orbital transfer vehicle was launched on Nov. 28 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter 15.

The mission began at 1844GMT and concluded with the successful payload separation, as the vehicle was separated from the rocket 81 minutes after the launch.

This mission marked a key step in Fergani Space’s transportation and space maneuvering capabilities.

Türkiye’s first homegrown space tug features the world’s first hybrid rocket engine to be fired in orbit — the craft will perform its first planned hybrid engine firing after settling in its mission orbit.

The FGN-TUG-S01’s low-cost and safe hybrid propulsion system will enable satellites to be transported to different orbits and extend their mission lifetimes.

The craft’s success will mark a new milestone in Fergani Space’s future constellation missions. These missions will involve placing satellites at different altitudes.

Türkiye’s first homegrown OTV will transport Fergani satellites from a low orbit of around 500 kilometers (310 miles) to higher altitudes at over 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) to position them in their mission orbits.

The craft features critical systems such as the flight computer, avionics, power distribution units, and thermal control infrastructure, all of which were developed domestically at Fergani Space.

Türkiye will become the first country to conduct hybrid engine tests in orbit with this vehicle.

Selçuk Bayraktar, CEO of Fergani Space, said in a statement on Tuesday that the firm launched its second satellite into service three weeks ago and that the country’s first homegrown orbital transfer vehicle is now operational.

“Our OTV, a product of domestic engineering, will initiate Türkiye’s mobility in space,” he said.

Bayraktar mentioned that the mission will be a baseline of the critical infrastructure on which Türkiye’s domestic global positioning system (GPS), named “Uluğbey,” will be developed.

“This mission will form the base for our Uluğbey GPS goal and pave the way for our future satellite constellations,” he said. “We aim to provide independent positioning and space logistics capabilities to Türkiye and its allied countries with more than 100 satellites in five years.”

Published December 01,2025

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Türkiye’s benchmark stock opened Monday at 10,898.10 points, slightly down 0.01% or 0.59 points.

On Friday, the BIST 100 decreased 0.43% and closed at 10,898.70 points, with a daily transaction volume of 108 billion liras ($2.55 billion).

As of 09.50 am local time (0650GMT), exchange rates stood at 42.5230 Turkish liras to the US dollar, 49.3330 to the euro, and 56.2255 to the British pound.

The price of an ounce of gold was $4,239.60, while Brent crude oil traded at $63.40 per barrel.

Published December 01,2025

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Maraş çöreği, a traditional bun from Türkiye’s Kahramanmaraş province, has been granted EU geographical indication status, Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı announced Monday.

In a post on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal, Yumaklı said the pastry is now the latest product from Kahramanmaraş to receive EU registration, joining Çağlayancerit Cevizi (walnut) and Maras Tarhanası, a fermented specialty.

“With this, the number of our EU-registered products has reached 44,” he noted.

Yumaklı added that the centuries-old culinary heritage of Kahramanmaraş “continues to cross borders.”

According to details shared by the minister, Maraş çöreği stands out for its distinctive preparation, stone-oven baking, and traditional methods. The bun has long been a staple on tables during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.