SEDEC: TURKEY`S PREMIERE HOMELAND BORDER SECURITY EVENT
Defence Turkey: Can you briefly inform our readers about SEDEC?
Murat DORUK: SEDEC, as Turkey's first and only fair held within the scope of homeland security, was first held in 2018. The second was held online in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the third one will be held June 28-30, 2022. Organized biennially, homeland security, border security, coast/maritime security, internal security, city security, secure communication and satellite security are the topics at SEDEC within a holistic security approach. The primary goal of the SEDEC fair is to provide the opportunity to gather the requiring/procurement authorities like ministries and their sub-divisions with the industrialists performing in the security sector and defense supply chain. It also aims to provide export opportunities by bringing the industrialists together with procurement authorities and purchasing delegations from more than 50 countries across the world.
Defence Turkey: What makes SEDEC different from other fairs?
Murat DORUK: SEDEC is Turkey's only homeland security fair. It is an organization addressing border security, coast guard, city security, secure communication, communication security with a holistic security approach. It aims to integrate the talents of our industrialists in the defense supply chain into the security sector, as well as our industrialists who produce in the security sector and have R&D and product development activities. Our industrialists have been carrying out successful projects and high-tech production in the defense industry for many years. The security industry is advancing rapidly. We aim to contribute to our country’s national and domestic move by bringing the requiring/procurement authorities together the defense industry companies so that they can demonstrate their advanced technology and production capabilities, also in the security sector, in which state-of-the-art products are also available.
SEDEC is a B2B/B2G based event where only industry players attend and bilateral meetings are planned prior to the start of the event, in addition it is an opportunity for exhibitors display their products at their stands. Our aim is to establish efficient negotiation environments free from external factors, while bringing together the requiring/procurement authorities looking for solutions to changing threats, gathering them with the industrialists to cover such needs, and to provide opportunities for fruitful collaborations. A total of 4,200 B2B meetings were held in the first SEDEC in 2018 and 700 B2B meetings were held in 2020, and quite positive feedback was received from the participants and the related requiring/procurement authorities.
Another feature of SEDEC is that it is organized in Ankara. Almost all requiring/procurement authorities and the major companies of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TAFF) are located in Ankara. Organizing the event in Ankara provides our industrialists with the opportunity to meet with considerably more officials from the requiring/procurement authorities.
Defence Turkey: What can you say about the collaborations achieved at SEDEC 2018 and 2020?
Hilal ÜNAL: We learn about the collaborations made at SEDEC events indirectly, not directly from the participating companies. Following the SEDEC 2018 and 2020 events, we learned that companies from 8-9 countries have started cooperation with Turkish companies regarding a sales agency. In fact, we anticipate that the number of cooperation instances is higher. We learned that the requiring/procurement authorities also enabled 3-4 companies that they had made contact with at SEDEC to produce new products. In this regard, we believe SEDEC's contribution is greater. Additionally, based on our observations, there are 5 companies that have started to perform activities in the security sector following the SEDEC fair. Along with the benefits we provide to our country, SEDEC also led to a collaboration between a Canadian company and an African country regarding export activities. What I want to emphasize is that SEDEC is a platform that adds value to all its participants.
What would you like to say about the feedback you received from requiring/procurement authorities and participating companies following SEDEC 2018 and 2020?
Hilal ÜNAL: We conducted surveys after the events. We had a 98.7 percent satisfaction rate in 2018 and 99 percent in 2020. Even though the event was held online due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, the increase in the satisfaction rate is quite significant. In this respect, SEDEC 2020 has been a great success for us. There are also our observations and the feedback we receive from the requiring/procurement authorities and participating companies. SEDEC is a business-oriented event, and this pleases the companies. For example, the fact that a company representative who participated in the event expressed his satisfaction by saying "everyone passing by our stand brought us a favorable result" remarkably supports this.
Defence Turkey: Can you tell us about the content and significance of the conference that will be held on Day-1 of the SEDEC program?
Dr. Murat DORUK: At the conference to be held, homeland security, border security, coast/maritime security, internal security, city security, satellite security as part of secure communication will be discussed. We will have participants from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of National Defense, Presidency of Defense Industries, Turkish Defense and Aviation Industry Exporters' Association, Information and Communication Technologies Authority, from companies such as ASELSAN, TUSAŞ, HAVELSAN, ROKETSAN, ASPİLSAN, İŞBİR, HAVELSAN HTR, MKEK, ASFAT, STM, ULAK, as well as representatives of international companies, such as Airbus, Telespazio, Tawazun, delegations, requiring/procurement authorities and industrialists from more than 50 countries. These gatherings are of great significance for our industrialists and requiring/procurement authorities. While the requiring/procurement authorities will guide the industrialists regarding their requirements and expectations, the companies will have insights about where the technology has come in the security sector and where the world is heading
