UPDATE - Turkey, Bosnia sign military financial cooperation deal

ADDS AKAR'S PHONE CALL WITH CANADIAN COUNTERPART

By Dilara Hamit and Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina signed a military financial cooperation agreement on Wednesday in the Turkish capital Ankara.

The defense ministers of the two countries signed the deal following talks on bilateral and regional defense, security and cooperation in the defense industry, according to a statement by the Turkish National Defense Ministry,

Turkey's Hulusi Akar and his Bosnian counterpart Sifet Podzic also signed a Cash Assistance Application Protocol, the statement said.

It added that during the talks, Akar and Podzic emphasized the common history between the two countries and underlined the need to boost efforts to further increase military training and cooperation.

According to another statement by the ministry on Twitter, Akar also held a phone call with his Canadian counterpart Harjit Sajjan, during which they discussed bilateral relations, regional developments and prospects for cooperation in defense and security.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk and Dilara Hamit