DIALOGUE SNAPSHOT REPORT
January 2026
Istanbul, Türkiye
Dialogue Summary
This report reflects perspectives shared during a Track II dialogue convened by the Hollings Center for International Dialogue focused on the future of U.S.–Türkiye defense and business cooperation. While participants acknowledged ongoing political and institutional constraints, discussions centered on areas where cooperation continues to function and where practical opportunities exist to strengthen defense, technology, and commercial engagement in ways that support mutual interests.
Participants emphasized that defense and business cooperation between the United States and Türkiye remains active, though increasingly selective and pragmatic. While traditional models of alliance-based defense integration face limitations in the near term, participants highlighted operational channels through which defense coordination, defense-industrial collaboration, and commercial ties continue to evolve. These channels were viewed as contributing to regional stability, interoperability, and the protection of shared security and economic interests.
Türkiye’s expanding defense-industrial base featured prominently in the dialogue as both a challenge and an opportunity. Participants noted that this evolution has opened new avenues for cooperation that can benefit U.S. interests, including cost-effective co-production, access to third-country markets, software-driven capabilities, and collaboration in less politically sensitive technology areas. Business cooperation—particularly in technology services, manufacturing, and small- and medium-sized enterprise engagement—was consistently identified as a stabilizing factor that also supports U.S. commercial competitiveness and supply-chain resilience.
Rather than focusing on comprehensive resets, participants emphasized incremental, operational approaches that build on existing strengths and work within current policy frameworks. The report synthesizes these perspectives, highlighting practical pathways for sustaining defense and business cooperation, reinforcing stability, and advancing U.S. and Turkish interests over time.
Key Takeaways of the Business and Defense Cooperation Dialogue
Defense cooperation between the United States and Türkiye can remain functional through military-to-military coordination and deconfliction mechanisms even in the absence of major platform decisions.
Selective defense-industrial collaboration below the most politically sensitive thresholds offers practical opportunities for continued cooperation under existing regulatory constraints.
Business and commercial engagement has proven more resilient than defense cooperation during periods of political strain and can serve as a stabilizing anchor for the broader relationship.
Small- and medium-sized enterprise engagement represents an underutilized avenue for deepening U.S.–Türkiye commercial ties with lower political risk.
Innovation, technology, and human capital platforms provide longer-term pathways for cooperation that are less vulnerable to diplomatic volatility.
Regional theaters such as Syria and the Black Sea remain areas where defense coordination and commercial activity intersect and require sustained, pragmatic engagement.
Incremental, interest-based approaches that work within existing sanctions and export-control frameworks are more likely to produce durable outcomes than efforts aimed at comprehensive resets.
