President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 20 reaffirmed Türkiye’s goal of achieving full domestic production in defense manufacturing, saying his government would continue efforts to strengthen self-reliance.
“Our world is experiencing one of the most profound changes since the Cold War... A new security paradigm is emerging. Every crisis we face reminds us that national security is too vital to be delegated to others,” Erdoğan said at a ceremony at the Istanbul Shipyard Command.
The ceremony marked the delivery of a patrol vessel to Romania and the commissioning of another into the Turkish navy.
“We are in the right in the middle of an extremely chaotic period where those who are not strong on the ground cannot find a place at the table, or even find themselves on the menu. Türkiye is one of the countries that recognized the spirit of this new era very early on and interpreted it most accurately,” Erdoğan said.
“On the path we embarked upon with the goal of achieving a fully independent Türkiye in defense, thank God, we have made significant progress over the past 23 years. Despite facing obstacles, restrictions and both overt and covert embargoes, we have persevered with patience to reach our goal. We believed in ourselves and trusted our defense sector.”
According to Erdoğan, annual defense exports stood at $248 million when his government took office more than two decades ago, while today that amount is “generated within a single week.”
Erdoğan also highlighted the agreement with Romania as a milestone for the Turkish defense sector, saying it marked the first export of a Turkish-built warship to a NATO and European Union member state.
“The success the ship demonstrated during its testing, training and operational readiness processes has once again proven the quality of Turkish naval platforms to the whole world,” he said.
“The turbulent security environment the world finds itself in makes it essential for friends and allies to increase their cooperation. We consider it our duty to share the capabilities and resources we possess in the defense industry with our friendly countries.”
Erdoğan said relations between Türkiye and Romania had reached what he described as a historic high, adding that cooperation with Romania and Bulgaria in combating naval mines remained among Ankara’s strongest regional security partnerships.
Following the ceremony, Erdoğan held a closed-door meeting with Romanian President Nicuşor Dan and his delegation.
According to a Turkish readout, the leaders discussed bilateral relations, as well as regional and global developments.
Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, Chief of General Staff Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, Communications Director Burhanettin Duran and Erdoğan’s chief foreign policy adviser Akif Çağatay Kılıç also attended the meeting.
