Erdoğan: Türkiye attaches 'great importance' to development of its defense industry despite embargoes

Türkiye attaches "great importance" to the development of its defense industry despite embargoes, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Tuesday.

"As Türkiye, we attach great importance to developing our defense industry, despite the many obstacles, secret and open embargoes that we face," Erdoğan said in a video message to the 16th International Defense Industry Fair 2023 being held in Istanbul.

One of the largest global defense events, which opened on Tuesday and will continue until Friday, is exhibiting a range of defense products including land vehicles, weapons, simulators, radars, sonars, naval platform solutions, aviation systems, missiles, logistic vehicles, supply equipment, and security systems.

"The Turkish defense industry sector has been writing a success story that has been followed with admiration by the whole world in recent years.

"Our industry has proven its worth with its armored vehicles, artillery, rockets, air defense systems, and all kinds of weapons and radar systems tested in conflict zones," Erdoğan said.

The president hailed Türkiye's capabilities in drone technology, saying it is among the world's top three countries in the field.

"Türkiye, which is one of the 10 countries that make its own warship, is also an important exporter in this field," he added.

Türkiye is "meticulously" implementing 850 different projects that will leave their mark in the defense industry, Erdoğan said, adding: "Last year, we reached an export figure of $4.4 billion. In the first six months of this year, we achieved a record export level of $2.3 billion. Our target in 2023 is $6 billion."

Ankara is not just for selling products, but aims to establish long-term partnerships and develop joint projects, he added.

"We are pleased to present our knowledge and experience in the defense industry to the benefit of our friends," Erdoğan said.