ISTANBUL (The Thursday Times) — Türkiye is ready to expand joint defence production and technology transfer with Saudi Arabia, the head of its defence industry agency, Haluk Görgün, said on Thursday, citing a portfolio of about $120 billion and more than 1,400 projects.
Görgün, who heads the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), was speaking at the Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Defence Industry Days in Istanbul, organised by Türkiye’s Foreign Economic Relations Board, the SAHA Istanbul defence industry cluster, and Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI). “With our nearly 4,500 defence SMEs, over 1,400 projects, a roughly $120 billion portfolio, and our president’s mandate, we are ready to take every step we can to develop together,” he said.
He said Turkish officials had held 75 meetings with Saudi counterparts over the past three and a half years, including the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), SAMI, and the General Authority for Defence Development. Turkish companies were already working with Saudi partners towards the kingdom’s Vision 2030 goal of producing at least half of its defence equipment at home, he said, and talks were under way on setting up defence centres of excellence.
Riyadh’s push to build at home
Bandar Al-Khorayef, the acting governor of GAMI, said Saudi Arabia’s defence localisation rate had risen from 4% to 27%, and that the kingdom aimed to reach 50% through technology transfer and long-term partnerships. He said the two countries cooperated not only in industry but on the basis of brotherhood, citing their work in the G20 and the Makkah Agreement, and that Riyadh offered incentives to foreign investors.
A senior GAMI official also invited Turkish companies to set up production facilities in the kingdom and develop joint projects, saying such partnerships would increase technology transfer and strengthen the local supply chain.
Murat İkinci, the chief executive of the missile maker Roketsan and vice chairman of SAHA Istanbul, said the Makkah Agreement had opened the way for concrete projects. He named autonomous systems, integrated air and missile defence, propulsion, and space systems as fields where joint research could bring quick results.
Türkiye’s deputy industry and technology minister, Çetin Ali Dönmez, said the country’s defence and aerospace exports had grown from $248 million in 2002 to more than $10 billion.
The Makkah pact
The meeting came a week after Türkiye’s parliament approved the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, under which an armed attack on one member is treated as an attack on all. Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had already completed their own procedures.
Saudi Arabia is facing drone and missile attacks claimed by Yemen’s Houthis, who said on Thursday that they had targeted the kingdom’s East-West oil pipeline. On Wednesday, Pakistan’s military spokesman said Pakistan’s commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security was “absolute and non-negotiable”.
