World's First Virtual Defense Industry Fair SAHA EXPO Opened

Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank stated that they achieved the great leap in the defense industry thanks to the vision drawn by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said, “The instructions he gave us; It was not about subcontracting to international defense industry manufacturers, but to establish a fully independent Turkish defense industry. SAHA Istanbul plays a very important role in achieving this goal. " said.

Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan said, "With virtual fairs, we show not only our products, but also the digital infrastructure, digital aptitude and technological capacity in our country to foreign buyers." used the expression.

WORLD'S FIRST VIRTUAL DEFENSE INDUSTRY FAIR

Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank and Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan attended the opening of the world's first virtual defense industry fair SAHA EXPO, organized by the Defense, Aviation, Space and Industry Cluster Association (SAHA Istanbul) via video conferencing. Speaking here, Minister Varank noted that a historical day in terms of the defense industry was witnessed together and said:

Thanks to this virtual fair; We actually open up the capabilities we have in the sector to the whole world with 3D modeling and interactive animations. The fact that SAHA EXPO is being held in such a period gives very critical messages. Despite the epidemic, the Turkish defense industry did not slow down. Our feet are very firm on the ground. Products to be exhibited at this fair; The most concrete indicators of our confidence in ourselves, our capabilities and product quality.

We made the great leap forward in the defense industry thanks to the vision our President of the Republic drew for us. The instruction he gave us; It was not about subcontracting to international defense industry manufacturers, but to establish a fully independent Turkish defense industry. SAHA Istanbul plays a very important role in the realization of this goal.

SAHA Istanbul brings together 551 companies, which cover almost all of the defense industry, under the same roof, combines their talents and helps these companies complement each other instead of competing with each other. Thanks to SAHA Istanbul; the public-private sector and the university do not only work together, they develop projects to work together.

I would like to mention the transformation of the defense industry in 15 years, the figures I will give are a comparison of 2005 and 2020. While there are no companies in the list of the top 100 defense industry companies in the world with the highest turnover, this year, 7 companies found their place in the list. While 30 thousand people work in the sector, more than 73 thousand people are currently working for the defense industry. While we were able to export 330 million dollars in total, we reached an export capacity of over 3 billion dollars. We are talking about a sector with a turnover of about 11 billion dollars.

R&D expenditures of the sector are increasing day by day. The amount of spending only in technopark companies and R&D Centers has exceeded 12 billion lira. 10 of the top 5 companies that spend the most on R&D in our country operate in the defense industry.

In the last 8 years, we have given incentive certificates to 13 projects with a total investment of 421 billion lira in the field of defense. Thanks to these projects, more than 11 thousand jobs were created. We ensure that 48 R&D and Design Centers in the sector benefit from various tax exemptions and premium supports.

With the programs we run through TÜBİTAK, we have supported 813 defense industry projects so far, close to 5 billion lira. TÜBİTAK Defense Industry Research and Development Institute has achieved many firsts with the system level products it has developed since the 2000s.

Thanks to a holistic perspective and correct guidance, the rate of localization in our defense industry, which was 2000 percent in the 20s, has reached 70 percent today. For the future of the industry and full independence, 100 percent localization is essential in critical components. It is necessary to go deep in order to increase the indigenization in the sector.

The defense industry is a very good role model for us. Based on this, we started to apply the National Technology Move understanding in all our policies. The governance model, which brings success in the sector, has become a reference for us to apply similar approaches in other areas of the industry. When the public reception and direction power is used correctly, you can hit the target from exactly 12.

Industrialization in conjunction with the Executive Committee, Turkey We're having a top-level decision-makers to plan policies to further develop the industry and technology manufacturers to life. We will take the decisions that will raise our industry and prepare our country for the future in this committee together with the relevant Ministries. Under the leadership of our President, our decisive, result-oriented and stability-focused economic policies will continue without slowing down.

We have made important arrangements in our investment incentive system in the last 1 year; Improvement of Investment Environment Coordination Board will further enhance the predictability, Turkey is a safe haven once we prove to the whole world.

We will implement mechanisms that will increase inter-sectoral interaction in order to increase the usability of the developed technologies in the civilian field. Turkey has a very strong potential in all areas of industry. We will implement the National Technology Move in a spirit of total mobilization.

"ADVANTAGE IN TERMS OF TIME AND COST"

Minister of Trade Ruhsar Pekcan, referring to the advantages of virtual trade delegations and virtual fairs in terms of time and cost, used the following statements:

“In this respect, we anticipate that we will be able to continue virtual fairs as a part of our new normal after the pandemic. This is very compatible with the development of our country in technology and digitalization in recent years. With virtual fairs, we show not only our products, but also the digital infrastructure, digital aptitude and technological capacity in our country to foreign buyers. "

new types of Turkey's commercial performance coronavirus (Kovid-19) stating that showed great resistance against the epidemic, "the new order will occur after the pandemic, we will continue our way to the role of the global economy and in trade even as strengthen a Turkey." he spoke.

"LIFE IS IMPORTANT"

President Ismail Demir Defense Industry, Defense, Aeronautics and Space Cluster Association (Istanbul FIELD) study of great importance for Turkey, said: "If you are strong, you can not mention the industry ecosystem is not a strong defense industry. Therefore, the existence of the SAHA Istanbul cluster and directing the existing industrial and technology infrastructure in that geography to the defense industry is of vital importance. " said.

Turkey is no longer self-sufficient, that there is a defense industry that can compete transfers iron, it is not enough, they have the power to do more work with, he said.

"RAPID DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIELD OF DEFENSE"

Deputy Minister Hasan Büyükdede, drawing attention to the rapid development in the field of defense, said, “Our companies have become more familiar with the defense industry in material technologies, land vehicles, aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles, ship and submarine technologies and weapons industry, a sub-cluster has been established for each subject and has been carried out. In this way, doing business in the defense industry has become a sector for the industrialists and our business world. " he spoke.

Haluk Bayraktar, Chairman of the Board of SAHA Istanbul, said, "With the willpower put in this field in a short time with the vision of the National Technology Move, our country has now gradually freed from dependence and has become the country that sets the doctrine with the technologies it has developed in the world war history." said.

SAHA Istanbul Secretary General İlhami Keleş stated that the virtual fair will remain open until April 9, 2021, and that companies' specially designed 3D stands are included in the Virtual SAHA EXPO.