SSI is Ready to Support Turkish Defence and Aerospace Exporters

Defence Turkey: The Defence and Aviation Industry Exporters’ Association has been established lately for the Turkish defence industry sector in coordination and with support of Ministry of Economy. Could you please inform us about the structure, members, mission and vision of your Union?

Turkish Defence and Aviation Industry Exporters’ Association was established in December 2011 in order to improve the exports of the Turkish defence and aviation products including defence and security systems, land and naval platforms, aerospace, electronics and information systems, weapon systems and ammunition, support systems and logistic services, R&D, engineering etc .

Following the "First General Assembly" held on December 19th 2011, our Association has officially started its activities and member registrations.

The Board of Directors of the Association is composed of 11 members, with a Chairman and two Deputies. The Board meets monthly to discuss the topics of the agenda that the activities are being planned accordingly.

Being the sole coordinator exporter Union in the Turkish defence and aviation industry and in accordance with our legislation, all exporter companies in the sector must be a member of our Association.

Defence Turkey: Could you please enlighten us about the activities of your Union in 2012?

Activities held by our Association are as follows:

-To obtain data regarding exports, imports, prices, competitors in the World defence market, and to update the regulations ,

-To compile all kind of information which exporters may need with respect to the targeted countries and put the information gathered in service to the members,

-To record the related data,

-To make analyses regarding the markets and products of the targeted countries with a view of enhancing the export potential of our members and disseminate the gathered information to them,

-To help the members when problems arise during the export processes;notify the agencies and organizations concerned and take the necessary actions ,

- To share the related information received from related agencies and organizations with the member companies via website or through other instruments (www.turkishdefenceindustry.gov.tr)

-To organize training seminars in order to encourage member companies to export their products and gain a competitive edge in the world market,

In addition to these missions, we also attend national and international exhibitions, conventions, seminars, symposiums, and conferences and encourage our members to participate in these activities.

We invite the representatives of the foreign defence industry companies to Turkey to meet our members. Additionally, business visits have been organized, one-on-one meetings have been held between our exporters and their counterparts to create cooperation opportunities.

Defence Turkey: As it’s known, Turkish Defence Industy‘s target is to increase the export from US$1 billion to US$2 billion. Within this concept, what are your strategies and activities to achieve Turkey’s 2023 export targets?

We have many steps to take, establishing our Association was the first vital step contributing to the improvement of defence and aviation industry exports. The more members we will have, the more financial sources we will gain. Thus, we will be able to carry out efficient activities in international platforms to promote Turkish Defence and Aviation Industry. We must work hard together with all the players of the sector to reach our goals.

Defence Turkey:Is it possible to go ahead and make a difference against Turkish Defence Industry’s competitors on international platforms that have gone ahead by providing a credit mechanism to these countries? What are your activities and strategies regarding credit mechanism?

We all know that some efforts have been made by the defence related organizations during the last 10 years. Due to some problems faced related with the regulations and procedures those efforts have not reached a solution. One of our vital goals is to create a Defence Industry Credit Mechanism. We will form a Group and work together with our colleagues from the members and the related Government Organizations to create this mechanism with its rules and regulations as soon as possible.

Defence Turkey: It is clear that SMEs take a significant role and contribute Turkish Defence Industry in recent years. What are your plans to strengthen SMEs role in Turkish Defence Industry exports?

One of the major activities that we think is a must, is to create a statistical database related to our sector. It is estimated that there are around 400 SMEs working in the defence and aviation industry. We need to have the complete inventory of the SMEs of this sector so that we could reach all of them and contribute not only to improvement of exports but also to increase the ratio of national value added in the sector.

Defence Turkey: Could you please inform us about the events planned regarding conferences, training programmes, meetings, exhibitions, bilateral talks etc?

Our Association participated EUROSATORY 2012 International Defence and Security Exhibition which was held on 11th-15th June in Paris/France with a National Participation and will take part in AIRTEC 2012 International Aerospace Supply Fair which will be held on 6th-8th November 2012 in Frankfurt/Germany with an infostand.

In addition, we will organize Sectoral Trade Visits to the target countries such as Africa and South America.

Training programmes and seminars on topics "Foreign Trade, New Turkish Commercial Code, Institutionalization of The Family Enterprises, Management Skills, Communication,Time Management etc. will be held for all members of the Defence and Aviation Exporters’ Association.

Sectoral meetings will be held to evaluate the opportunities of cooperation with our members and to search for solutions to the problems faced by the sector.

Companies will be visited in order to increase the number of our members.

Our web site (www.turkishdefenceindustry.gov.tr) has just been published. We will enrich its content to offer new services and optimize its utilization.

Defence Turkey: Could you please enlighten about Government incentives and supports regarding Defence and Aerospace exports?

Companies in the defence and aviation industry, as well as all others in Turkey, can benefit from Government Incentives, brought into force by Ministry of Economy in the activities listed below, our

Association will be of assistance to our members

Research And Development Projects

Environmental Protection Activities

Market Research and Marketing Projects

Operating Stores Abroad

Encouraging Employment In Sectoral Foreign Trade Companies

Participation In International Fairs And Exhibitions

Organizing Domestic Fairs Having International Participaton

Enhancing International Competitiveness

Industrial Design

Vocational Training And Counseling

Activities Aimed At The Promotion Of Turkish Trademarks And The Improvement Of The Image Of Turkish Products Abroad.

In addition, there are State Supports for Research and Developement Projects brought into force by the Undersecretariat for Defence Indstries (SSM), The Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK), Small to Medium Enterprises Development Organization (KOSGEB) and Technology Development Foundation (TTGV).

Defence Turkey:Finally would you like to add a message to our readers?

If we summarize the whole interview, SSI’s main mission is to support the exporters of Turkish Defence and Aerospace Industry both financially and morally.

Thank you for this interview, we will continue to share with you the future activities and projects.