In a significant step toward enhancing its national security and military capabilities, El Salvador has ratified a defense cooperation agreement with Turkey, following approval by the Legislative Assembly during its 59th ordinary plenary session.
The bilateral agreement, originally signed by El Salvador’s Minister of Defense, René Francis Merino Monroy, on March 3, 2025, and by the Turkish Secretary of Defense Industries on April 16, aims to bolster El Salvador’s defense sector through knowledge-sharing, logistical support, and technological exchange. The ratification enables El Salvador to strengthen and modernize its Armed Forces with the necessary tools to protect its national territory effectively.
“This is not about exchanging or purchasing equipment, but rather about the transfer of knowledge and sharing experiences between both nations,” stated Ana Figueroa, president of the commission of Salvadorans abroad and a deputy of the Nuevas Ideas party. “Through this agreement, we will be able to modernize and equip all our Armed Forces, ensuring they have the necessary tools to protect our people and our territory.”
Key aspects of the agreement include the development, acquisition, and maintenance of defense goods and services, joint training, exchange of technology and documentation, and coordinated defense-related activities. The agreement also reinforces mutual respect for national sovereignty, reciprocity, and the protection of classified information, as well as intellectual and industrial property rights resulting from joint defense projects—applicable even after the agreement concludes.
Despite its strategic benefits, the initiative did not receive support from the opposition party Vamos, whose representative abstained from providing a reason.
The El Salvador–Turkey defense cooperation marks a pivotal advancement in El Salvador’s efforts to build a sustainable national defense infrastructure and cultivate international partnerships aligned with the country’s development and sovereignty goals.
