Malaysia’s PM Mahathir visits TAI during Turkey visit

Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad visited Thursday the facilities of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in capital Ankara as part of his official visit to Turkey.

The veteran leader was accompanied by Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank, Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) head Ismail Demir and TAI General Manager Temel Kotil.

Before the visit, Mahathir met with representatives from Turkish defense companies and a presentation was made regarding possible cooperation opportunities with Malaysia.

On the last leg of the visit, an air show was held for Mahathir using domestically-developed Turkish aircraft T129 ATAK helicopter, Hürkuş-B training aircraft and Anka unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

Varank told reporters that there are various fields in which Malaysia and Turkey can cooperate and there are great opportunities in the defense field as well.

Mahathir is scheduled to meet with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan later in the day, and Varank said cooperation in the defense sector will also be on the table.

Referring to 10 cooperation agreements signed on the sidelines of 2019 Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2019) in March, Demir expressed his hopes for more concrete steps in defense field.