SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Slovakia will kick off talks in January for the purchase of three C-390 Millennium aircraft, Brazilian planemaker Embraer said on Tuesday, making it the latest NATO member nation to eye the military cargo model.

Slovakia is targeting the C-390 due to the potential benefits in training, logistics and cooperation in developing military fleets with neighboring countries which have already acquired the aircraft, Embraer said in a statement.

Portugal and Hungary already fly the C-390, while the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic and Sweden have also acquired the aircraft.

The announcement comes as Slovak Prime Minister Roberto Fico is on a visit to Brasilia.

Earlier in the day, Brazil's defense ministry signed an agreement with its Slovak counterpart to encourage closer industrial cooperation between the two countries, Embraer said.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Sarah Morland)