SAHA EXPO 2022 International Defense & Aerospace Exhibition was Held in Istanbul
The official opening ceremony of SAHA EXPO 2022 International Defense and Aerospace Exhibition, which was organized by SAHA EXPO Fuarcılık Hizmetleri A.Ş and supported by 5 Ministries (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Industry and Technology, and Ministry of Trade) and the Defense Industry Agency took place on October 25, 2022.
Prime Minister of Libya Abdul Hamid Al-DBEIBEH, Minister of National Defense Hulusi AKAR, Minister Industry and Technology Mustafa VARANK, Azerbaijan Minister of Defense General Zakir HASANOV, Azerbaijan Minister of Defense Industry Madat GULIYEV, Chief of Turkish General Staff (TGS) General Yaşar GÜLER, President of Turkish Defense Industry Agency Prof. İsmail DEMİR, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Şekip AVDAGİÇ and Chairman of the Board of SAHA Istanbul Haluk BAYRAKTAR were among the high-level participants at the SAHA EXPO 2022 Exhibition official opening ceremony.
President of the Republic of Türkiye Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN issued a greeting message to the participants and guests of the SAHA EXPO 2022 Exhibition. In his message President ERDOĞAN underlined that interest in the exhibition which brings together all stakeholders of the sector, is increasing globally in tandem with the development of the Turkish Defense Industry. “With 876 companies and 24 universities, SAHA EXPO, the largest industrial cluster in Türkiye and Europe, is increasing its success every year. We are very pleased that SAHA EXPO has quickly become an international platform where our country's domestic and independent production prowess is demonstrated,” President ERDOĞAN said. President ERDOĞAN made the following statements in his greeting message; “I am confident that our exhibition, which brings together participants from 57 different countries of the world for four days, will help foster new collaborations and experience and knowledge exchange. I wish SAHA EXPO Defense and Aerospace Exhibition to be auspicious. I would like to extend my congratulations to everyone who supported, contributed to, and took part in the execution of this significant organization, as well as all relevant institutions and organizations.”
Haluk BAYRAKTAR: “We hosted this year in 6 halls in an indoor area of 60,000 square meters, a total of 957 companies, including 390 foreign companies from 37 countries and 567 domestic companies.”
As the first speaker, Chairman of the Board of SAHA Istanbul Haluk BAYRAKTAR delivered the following speech:
“… The whole world needs to come together to stand against the injustices of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, which is making the world a more difficult place to live in. The people in positions of authority, motivated by their desire to increase their status and wealth while sometimes mentioning their purported historical mission or their assertions that they are guiding the world toward democracy, only cause suffering and catastrophe in the geographies of others.
We cannot defend our own country against threats in such a world if the power is not in our hands, if the technology belongs to others, and if being “national” is nothing more than a dream. Dear participants, with a $15.5 billion defense expenditure, Türkiye ranks among the top 20 countries. With the power we gain from the indigenization goal we have strongly implemented, we are experiencing a significant breakthrough for full independence in the defense and aerospace industry, where advanced technological development is critical. At SAHA EXPO, which we hosted this year in 6 halls in an indoor area of 60,000 square meters, a total of 957 companies, including 390 foreign companies from 37 countries and 567 domestic companies, are exhibiting their most advanced and innovative products. More than 10,000 B2B, B2C and C2C meetings will be held between our participating companies with the infrastructure offered by the SAHA Match app. Throughout the exhibition, we will organize international panels, product/project presentations of companies and important signing ceremonies. We provide new and small businesses—who will become prominent businesses in our sector in the future—with the chance to present themselves and their products. We are making a breakthrough, launching a defense show in the Metaverse for the first time with SAHA EXPO. Distinguished guests, I would like to express my gratitude to our President for his support of SAHA EXPO 2022, to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Industry and Technology, the Ministry of Trade, and the Presidency of Defense Industries for their support, and to our team who put in a lot of effort for this incredible organization. I would like to sincerely thank all our guests who came from abroad and participated in our exhibition, and all the companies taking part in the exhibition for their steadfast support.”
In his address President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce Şekip AVDAGİÇ underlined that the SAHA EXPO Exhibition is more than simply a standard trade show because it gives us a chance to witness how far Türkiye’s defense industry has progressed. “We also have the opportunity to see Türkiye’s journey in industry and technology, especially in the last 20 years, and the level of domestic and national production,” AVDAGİÇ added. AVDAGİÇ made the following statements in his address; “When we used to attend these fairs 25–30 years ago, we used to wonder if we would be able to accomplish something similar or get to this point. But this exhibition has developed into a platform where we can demonstrate to the rest of the world that our dreams have come true and that it is possible to produce domestic and national technology. Therefore, this event is more than just an industrial exhibition or a defense industry fair.”
SSB President Prof.İsmail DEMİR: “R&D is a very crucial concept, the budget allocated to R&D has surpassed $1.5 billion annually.”
Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of SAHA EXPO 2022, President of Defense Industry Agency (SSB) Prof. İsmail DEMİR underlined that with its growing number of participants each year, SAHA EXPO has contributed significantly to the industry. “In previous years, it has also facilitated the signing of numerous international agreements and the meeting of companies that did not know each other. Our event has developed day by day and is on its way to becoming one of the most significant defense industry trade shows in the world. In particular, it has served as a platform for B2B, B2C, and C2C meetings and has been crucial in bringing our companies together,” President of the SSB DEMİR added.
DEMİR gave the following speech: “I would like to express my gratitude to our President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN, who has always contributed to this process with his strong will and ideals and who has made it possible for our expo to be held under the auspices of the Presidency in order to elevate it to a higher level. If we look at the position we have reached today, the number of projects we are carrying out has exceeded 750, half of which have been initiated in the last 5-6 years. The value of our defense projects has exceeded $70 billion, the number of companies operating in the defense industry has exceeded 1,600, which was around 60 in 2002, and we generate more than $10 billion in revenue. R&D is a very crucial concept; without R&D, these processes and technological developments would not be possible. For this reason, the budget allocated to R&D has surpassed $1.5 billion annually.
Later on, the Ministry of Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa VARANK came to the floor and gave the following speech: “Distinguished guests, we are holding SAHA EXPO this year under the shadow of the Russia-Ukraine War. Türkiye is the only country that made the most sincere and realistic effort to resolve this crisis peacefully and to end the war as soon as possible. From the first day, we are making great efforts to keep the channels of dialogue open and to maintain diplomatic ties. Türkiye has been the pioneer of all concrete steps, from humanitarian aid to grain corridor and prisoner exchange. However, this tragic event has shown us once again that international cooperation is more important than ever. In this sense, SAHA EXPO, one of the world's largest defense industry exhibitions with an indoor area of 60,000 square meters, is a very valuable fair. At SAHA EXPO, 567 companies from Türkiye and 390 companies from 56 different countries will exhibit their most popular solutions and most technological products.”
MoD Hulusi AKAR: “As in Cyprus, we are willing and able to protect our rights and interests in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean.”
Delivering the last speech at the ceremony, Minister of National Defense Hulusi AKAR in summary said the following:
“This important event organized by SAHA Istanbul creates significant awareness and impact in the sector, and thus, it will make outstanding contributions to all participants in the medium and long term. Distinguished participants, we live in a period where the world and our region are going through a sensitive process due to various social, economic, political, military, technological, and environmental factors, and the balance of power, actors, and roles are constantly changing. We all see this. Countries are increasing their defense investments in several areas, from ensuring border security to protecting cyberspace and developing multi-faceted relations in the international arena. We have always respected the borders and sovereignty of all our neighbors, and we continue to do so. Our only goal is to ensure the security of our country and nation. We also expect our neighbors to respect our sovereignty and act in accordance with international law, reason, and logic. In this context, despite all the provocative actions and rhetoric, we make great efforts to keep the dialogue channels with our neighbor Greece open, and we always extend our hand for peace for the stability of our region. While we were approaching the problems with peaceful solutions, some well-known Greek politicians invented a rhetoric called Neo-Ottomanism to cover up their dreams of the Megali Idea. Yet, they accuse Türkiye of expansionism. However, the real expansionist is Greece itself, which has expanded 3 times in 7 years since its establishment and has constantly provoked and threatened Türkiye. These well-known Greek politicians are doing great harm to the Greek people with their statements taking into account their own personal ambitions and sabotaging and destroying the road to peace and the dialogue between the two countries. Despite all the approaches of Greek politicians that are far from reality, detached from reason and law, we will continue to continue our efforts for peace and stability under the leadership of our President, for the Aegean and the Mediterranean to be a sea of friendship, and for the fair sharing of all wealth. However, those who take pride in bringing the problems between us to the international level and believe that they will usurp our rights by seeking help from other countries should know very well that we have never allowed and will not allow fait accompli and impositions on our rights and interests. As in Cyprus, we are willing and able to protect our rights and interests in the Aegean and the Eastern Mediterranean. If Greece can see Türkiye as a strong, reliable, and effective ally rather than a threat, it will be an excellent achievement for our country, region, and NATO. We hope that this will be understood and realized as soon as possible. As a matter of fact, the grain and POW agreements are the last two examples of what Türkiye can do.”
Following the opening speeches, the ribbon cutting ceremony was held with the participation of Prime Minister of Libya Al-DBEIBEH, MoND AKAR, Minister VARANK, Azerbaijan Minister of Defense General HASANOV, Azerbaijan Minister of Defense Industry GULIYEV, Chief of TGS Gen. GÜLER, President of the SSB DEMİR, President of the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce AVDAGİÇ, Chairman of the Board of SAHA Istanbul BAYRAKTAR. Following the opening ceremony, accompanied by the delegations and the Ministers who were officially invited to the Fair from foreign countries, Minister of National Defense AKAR visited the stands where he talked with company representatives to get information on the displayed products
