Trade Minister Muş Speaks at the Conference on Global Strategies in the Defense and Aviation Industry

At the closing of the "Global Strategies in the Defense and Aviation Industry Conference'21" held in a hotel in Belek Tourism Region in Antalya, Muş said that the defense industry is of great importance for all countries of the world due to its close relationship with national security and its potential. .

Noting that the defense and aerospace industry sector is among the sectors of strategic importance for Turkey as well, Muş said, "I can say with satisfaction that our country is now rapidly advancing to have a say in this sector in the world. When we look at the expenditures and exports of the defense industry sector on a global scale, the position of our country can be seen better. " said.

Explaining that the market size in the defense industry on a global scale has reached 2 trillion dollars, Muş noted that Turkey is 14th in the list, which also includes countries such as the USA, Russia, Spain, South Korea and Israel.

Indicating that there are 2 companies in the list of the top 100 companies worldwide in 2021, which takes into account the defense industry revenues, Muş stated that the successes achieved in the defense industry in this sense make Turkey proud.

- To remove the target current account deficit issue from the agenda

Muş said that the Turkish economy experienced a strong recovery in 2020, positively distinguishing itself from the world, thanks to the acceleration of vaccination in the world, the increase in foreign demand and service revenues.

Noting that the strong growth performance continued this year as well, Muş said:

"Our country grew by 7.2 percent in the first quarter, 22 percent in the second quarter and 7.4 percent in the third quarter of 2021. Our exports continued to be the locomotive of this strong growth. As a matter of fact, our exports increased by 33.4 percent compared to November of last year. It was realized as 21.5 billion dollars with an increase and the highest record was achieved on a monthly basis in the history of the Republic.In addition, our export value for the last 12 months reached 221 billion dollars, far exceeding our targets. These figures show that Turkey continues to grow by producing and exporting what it produces abroad. Our ultimate goal is to permanently remove the current account deficit from our agenda by reducing the foreign trade deficit through production and exports based on R&D and innovation."

Muş noted that 2021 is also a year of recovery for the defense industry sector.

Emphasizing that the sector's exports reached 2.8 billion dollars in the January-November period this year, Muş said that there is a high probability of closing the year with 3 billion dollars.

Stating that they will take additional steps to further develop the export potential within the scope of the Far Country Strategy to be announced in the future, Muş said, "Within the scope of the 11th Development Plan, prepared in line with our public policies, it is aimed to meet the needs of the defense and aerospace industry with domestic manufacturing. According to the plan, defense is among the priority targets. In the industry, it is aimed to increase defense exports by meeting the needs of our armed forces and security forces with national technologies and domestic opportunities to the maximum extent with the understanding of continuous development. used the phrases.

- "Restrictions made Turkey a self-sufficient country"

Mentioning that there was an import-dependent structure in the Turkish defense industry in the pre-1990 period, Muş said that the joint production model of land and air vehicles such as armored combat vehicles, light transport and basic trainer aircraft and cargo helicopters was adopted in the 1990-2000 period.

Noting that the partial design process of key platforms such as Mil-Gem, Anka and Hürkuş started in the 2000s, Muş noted that after 2010, domestic and original design products began to be developed with domestic helicopters, domestic warplanes and Göktürk-3 projects.

Stating that some secret and overt embargoes have been implemented on international platforms, Muş said that the export ban on the vision-focused camera used in UAVs with Canada recently revealed the dynamics of the industry once again.

Emphasizing that the restrictions faced in the past have made Turkey a self-sufficient country in the long run, Muş continued as follows:

"Indigenization rates have increased from 25 percent in 2006 to 75 percent today. This figure reveals the strong potential of the Turkish defense industry. If we look at the last 14 years, our defense and aerospace industry turnover, which was 1.3 billion dollars in 2002, 5 billion dollars, our defense and aerospace exports from 247 million dollars to 2.5 billion dollars, and our R&D expenditures from 49 million dollars to 904 million dollars.Turkey is very proud of itself in the field of armored vehicles, armed and unarmed unmanned aerial vehicles within the scope of national security measures and the fight against terrorism. carried it forward.”

Stating that the defense capacity strengthened by domestic and national industry will be the protector of the interests of the country and the guarantee of the stability of the countries in the region, Muş said, "Turkey has a strong army, firepower and last resort.

technology is a major deterrent in the region with its domestic weapons. On the 100th anniversary of our Republic, we will continue our determined march to achieve the vision of a Turkey that designs, produces and exports in the defense and aerospace industry, as in many other sectors. As the Ministry of Trade, we will work with all our efforts to help the sector reach its export target of 10 billion dollars."