FM Sybiha at SAHA EXPO 2024 calls on Turkish companies to invest in Ukraine’s defense industry

This is reported by an Ukrinform correspondent.

“We are grateful to Turkish partners for their solidarity and assistance. We need additional support from all our partners and allies to counter Russian aggression and restore a comprehensive, just and lasting peace. I urge all of you to focus on Ukraine’s defense industry. We have a really strong advantage: our defense military products are daily tested on the front,” Sybiha told.

He called on Turkish companies to invest in the development of Ukraine’s defense industry, which is currently one of the most dynamic in the world.

“We are interested in further cooperation. Together, we will do everything to strengthen our bilateral relations and achieve stable peace for Ukraine,” Sybiha stressed.

More than 120 countries are taking part in the SAHA EXPO 2024 exhibition. Overall, more than 1,200 companies have displayed their products.

“Last year the export volumes of Türkiye’s defense and aerospace sector reached USD 5.5 billion. At the SAHA EXPO exhibition, we are signing export agreements at the level close to our annual exports,” Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar noted.

In his words, during this year’s SAHA EXPO, 133 agreements are expected to be signed, totaling USD 6.2 billion. In particular, this refers to USD 4.6 billion worth of export contracts, including those with Ukrainian companies.

Bayraktar presented the head of Ukrainian diplomacy with a model of the Kizilelma UCAV, decorated with a Ukrainian ornament. This newest drone with a Ukrainian-made engine has been developed and is already being tested by Baykar, the co-organizer of the SAHA EXPO exhibition.

Sybiha thanked the Turkish side and Haluk Bayraktar personally for military assistance and support to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.

Photo: Olha Budnyk, Ukrinform

During the exhibition, the head of Ukrainian diplomacy held negotiations with Turkish ministers, the representatives of Türkiye’s defense industry, and the heads of leading defense industry companies. Sybiha also visited the Ukrainian stand and participated in the signing of contracts.

A reminder that Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha was paying a visit to Türkiye on October 20-22, 2024.

Photo: Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ukrinform