Turkey has approved an agreement signed with Chad, a landlocked country in northeast Africa, to cooperate in research and development and joint production of defense materials and military systems.
The agreement, a copy of which was obtained by Nordic Monitor, details the full scope of cooperation on defense and military industry matters. According to Article 4 of the deal the two countries agree to cooperate on implementing the results from joint work in military hardware.
As detailed in the articles of the agreement, Turkey and Chad commit themselves to encouraging further agreements as part of this deal between relevant authorities on either side in order to develop weapons and military equipment.
Turkey also agreed to sell or provide surplus military materiel to Chad. The two countries will exchange information, materials and personnel between military institutions, defense companies and other bodies.
A joint commission of 14 people from the two defense ministries will be set up to implement the provisions of the agreement. The commission members will identify concrete areas of cooperation, make proposals and assess the implementation of agreed matters.
Classified information will not be shared with third parties even after the expiration of the agreement, according to Article 9.
The agreement is valid for five years with automatic renewals unless either party decides to withdraw from the deal.
The agreement was approved by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on May 29, 2017, three years after it was signed, on Dec. 16, 2014.
In December 2017 Erdoğan became the first Turkish president to visit Chad.
