NATO to focus on defense industry at Ankara summit: Fidan
ANKARA
Increasing the production capacity and efficiency of the defense industry will be a main topic at the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara, the Turkish top diplomat has said, stressing that a special forum will be held on the margins of the summit.
In a joint press conference with visiting Kyrgyzstan Foreign Minister Jeenbek Kulubayev on July 1 in Ankara, Hakan Fidan shared his assessments about the summit set for July 7 and 8 in the Turkish capital.
“The fact that this summit is being held in Türkiye is significant in terms of demonstrating Türkiye’s strategic importance and its place within the alliance,” Fidan told reporters, describing the role of the country as “a game setter in the region.”
This will be Türkiye’s second time hosting the leaders’ summit after a 22-year hiatus, the minister noted, informing that the allied nations will review all the decisions made at the past two summits, particularly on burden sharing.
“NATO’s perspectives, in light of new arising conditions, dubbed NATO 3.0, the European deterrence amid wars and rising instability will also be discussed,” he suggested.
Apart from these issues, the defense industry will cover a good part of the agenda as recent developments in the world have proven that all the countries and alliances need to double their efforts in terms of preparedness, the minister said.
“Issues related to the defense industry are now among top priorities,” Fidan said, informing that a special forum will be held on the sidelines of the summit.
“Recent wars and conflicts have shown that production, efficiency, diversity and the level of dependence regarding the defense industry have become equally important for the alliance.”
Ties with EU advance
On a question about high-level talks between Türkiye and the European Union, Fidan suggested that ties between the two sides have recently been improved and advancing in a more constructive way.
One of the key issues discussed was the need for the modernization of the customs union the minister recalled, saying, “There is an intense demand from both sides on upgrading the customs union. But the process fails to advance due to the blockages of Greek Cyprus.”