Brazil Turns to Turkey for Defence Investment as Lula and Erdoğan Talk
BRAZIL · DEFENSE
Key Facts
—What happened: Lula and Turkey’s president Erdoğan agreed on Monday 24 August to deepen defence-industry cooperation.
—The mechanism: A new Strategic Council at vice-president level will draft a roadmap for the whole relationship.
—What Lula wants: More Brazilian defence investment and partnerships between Brazilian and Turkish companies.
—The catch: The call produced intentions, not contracts, and no figure or project was named.
—The backdrop: Two-way trade neared US$5 billion in 2024, making Brazil Turkey’s top South American partner.
—What comes next: Brazil’s defence and industry ministers will lead a delegation to Turkey, and Lula accepted a COP31 invitation.
A phone call between Lula and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 24 August turned a ratified defence agreement into a work plan, as Brazil looks for partners beyond Washington.
What the two presidents agreed
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday 24 August. Brazil’s presidency published a short official note the same evening.
The headline decision is a new Strategic Council, led at vice-president level. It will draft what the note calls a roadmap for deepening bilateral relations.
Both men also celebrated the recent ratification of their Defence Industry Cooperation Agreement. Brazil’s Congress approved it in September 2025, and Turkey’s parliament has now done the same.
Lula said Brazil intends to expand investment in defence. He wants partnerships between Brazilian and Turkish companies in the sector.
A Brazilian delegation will travel to Turkey to follow up. It will be led by the ministers of defence and of development, industry and trade.
Why Brazil is courting Turkey’s defence industry
Turkey has built one of the world’s fastest-growing arms industries. Its defence and aerospace exports reached about US$10.6 billion in 2025, up 49 percent in a year.
The country is known above all for its armed drones, such as the Bayraktar TB2. It also exports armoured vehicles, missiles and aircraft.
At the heart of Brazil Turkey defence cooperation sits Embraer, the planemaker. It signed a cooperation memorandum with Turkish Aerospace Industries at the LAAD defence fair in Rio de Janeiro in April 2025.
Embraer hopes to sell its C-390 military transport plane to Turkey. Turkish firms, in turn, are competing for Brazilian contracts for drones, vehicles and missile engines.
One deal is already flying. A Turkish turbojet engine powers the extended-range version of MANSUP, Brazil’s home-grown anti-ship missile.
Brazil Turkey defence cooperation rests on a growing trade relationship
Brazil Turkey defence cooperation sits on top of a growing commercial relationship. Two-way trade approached US$5 billion at the end of 2024.
Brazil is Turkey’s largest trading partner in South America. Trade between the two has grown at close to 17 percent a year over the past five years.
Brazil sells Turkey cotton, coffee and soybeans. Turkey sells Brazil vehicles, machinery and industrial parts.
Erdoğan framed the call in bigger terms on Monday. He said both countries could build a model of economic cooperation against what he called protectionist trends.
Read the timing: a tariff fight with Washington
The word protectionist was not aimed at Europe. Brazil is locked in a tariff dispute with the United States, its second-largest trading partner.
The dispute has pushed Brasília to advertise alternatives, and Ankara is an easy one to advertise. Turkey is a NATO member that sells advanced weapons without Washington’s political conditions.
For Lula, Brazil Turkey defence cooperation also plays at home. It shows his government investing in national industry while he campaigns for a fourth term in October.
For Erdoğan, the call serves another purpose. Turkey applied to join the BRICS group of emerging powers in 2024, and Brazil is a founding member.
Ukraine, the Middle East and a climate summit
Defence was not the only topic. The two presidents discussed the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and called for more dialogue toward peace.
Both countries present themselves as mediators. Each has kept working relations with Moscow and Kyiv, and each criticises Israel’s war in Gaza.
Erdoğan also invited Lula to COP31, the United Nations climate conference in Antalya in November. Lula accepted, and the two expect to meet there in person.
What to watch from here
The first test is the ministerial delegation to Turkey. Its composition and its dates will show how seriously Brasília takes the defence track.
The second is the Strategic Council’s roadmap. Councils of this kind often produce communiqués rather than contracts.
The third is concrete procurement, where Brazil Turkey defence cooperation becomes real or stays rhetoric. Watch Brazil’s open tenders for armed drones and armoured vehicles, where Turkish firms are already bidding.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Lula and Erdoğan agree on 24 August 2026?
They agreed to create a Strategic Council at vice-president level and to expand Brazil Turkey defence cooperation. A Brazilian ministerial delegation will visit Turkey.
Is there a defence agreement between Brazil and Turkey?
Yes. A Defence Industry Cooperation Agreement was ratified by both parliaments, with Brazil’s Congress approving it in September 2025. Both presidents celebrated this on the call.
How big is trade between Brazil and Turkey?
Two-way trade approached US$5 billion at the end of 2024. Brazil is Turkey’s largest trading partner in South America.
Why is Brazil looking for new defence partners?
Brazil wants to modernise its forces and grow its own arms industry. A tariff dispute with the United States has added pressure to diversify its partnerships.
Will Lula and Erdoğan meet in person?
Yes, if plans hold. Erdoğan invited Lula to the COP31 climate conference in Antalya in November, and Lula accepted the invitation.
Connected Coverage
We covered the parallel track with Washington in Lula’s call with Trump as tariff talks resumed and Brazil’s arms industry shake-up in the Batista brothers’ bid for missile maker Avibrás. More on the region’s rearmament is in our weekly Defense Monitor, with the bigger picture on our Brazil hub.
Sources: Brazilian Presidency press note (24 August 2026), Anadolu Agency (24 August 2026), Valor Econômico (24 August 2026), Lusa (25 August 2026), Embraer (April 2025).
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