The Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Defense Industry Days, bringing together the defence industry ecosystems of Türkiye and Saudi Arabia, were held in Istanbul on 11-12 November 2026. Over the two days, 69 Turkish and 30 Saudi companies held a total of 601 bilateral business meetings. Speaking on the protocol day on 12 November, Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün noted that the SSB has held 75 meetings with Saudi Arabia over the past three and a half years, underlining the vision of the two countries to jointly develop their defence industry ecosystems.
Held at Property Expo Istanbul (Vadi Istanbul), the Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Defense Industry Days brought the two countries’ defence industry companies together under one roof. The event laid the groundwork for direct business contacts between companies of both countries, enabling them to explore cooperation, supply and export-focused opportunities.
Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources and President of the General Authority for Military Industries (GAMI), Bandar Al-Khorayef, was present throughout the event and held meetings with Turkish defence industry representatives. On the first day, Minister Al-Khorayef met with the general managers of Otokar, ROKETSAN, STM and HAVELSAN. On the second day, he met with executives from TUSAŞ, MKE and SAHA Istanbul.
601 BILATERAL BUSINESS MEETINGS IN TWO DAYS
As part of the event, 69 Turkish and 30 Saudi Arabian companies held bilateral (B2B) business meetings, with a total of 601 meetings held — 295 on 11 November and 306 on 12 November.
The meetings gave companies from both countries the opportunity to become closely acquainted with each other’s capabilities, evaluate potential areas of cooperation, and develop commercial and supply-chain-focused contacts. The business connections established are expected to form the basis for business development and follow-up processes to be carried out between companies of both countries going forward.
PROTOCOL DAY
The second day of the event was held as the protocol day. The opening programme, attended by Presidency of Defence Industries President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün and Saudi Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Bandar Al-Khorayef, was also attended by Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Dr. Çetin Ali Dönmez, Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) CEO Thamer Al-Muhaid, and DEIK Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Business Council Chairman Haşim Süngü.
Following the opening programme, Presidency of Defence Industries President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün and Minister Al-Khorayef held a bilateral meeting, where issues related to deepening defence industry cooperation between the two countries were discussed.
“WE TAKE JOINT DEVELOPMENT AS A VISION”
Speaking at the opening programme, Presidency of Defence Industries President Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün said he was pleased to take part in an event that supports solidarity, joint business development and genuine allied cooperation between the two countries. Stating that Türkiye aims to share the experience it has gained in the defence industry with friendly and brotherly nations and to develop it together, Görgün said:
“With the will set forth especially over the last 20 years by our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and which contains many successful examples reflected in the figures, we take it as a goal and a vision to share and jointly develop our defence industry ecosystem together with our brothers and friends, with the instructions and authority given to us by our President. Saudi Arabia is foremost among these brotherly nations. We are moving forward with confident steps together with GAMI, SAMI and GADD, which were built in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and with which we share the same philosophy and on which we are carrying out many joint projects.”
75 MEETINGS IN THE LAST 3.5 YEARS
Görgün noted that the number of meetings held with Saudi Arabia over the past three and a half years by the Presidency of Defence Industries alone, most of which he personally attended, has reached 75. Noting that this figure corresponds to 25 meetings a year, or coming together at least twice a month, Görgün said:
“Thank God, this high-level partnership has so far produced very valuable results. However, we are going through a process in which there is valuable work that we have to do and will do, far beyond what we have achieved so far.”
Görgün said that GAMI, established in 2018, has achieved important milestones to date, and that he believes Minister Al-Khorayef, who has taken over the helm, will carry the institution to even higher levels together with his team. Görgün emphasised that both sides will continue to do their best to increase synergy and interaction going forward.
SUPPORT FOR SAUDI ARABIA’S VISION 2030
Görgün recalled that one of the most important defence industry outcomes of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is self-sufficiency. Noting that within this framework the goal is for at least 50 percent of production to be carried out in Saudi Arabia and for supply chain security and resilience to be established, Görgün said that Turkish public, foundation and private sector companies have put forward concrete examples towards this goal in many areas. Emphasising that today’s meeting is one of the important steps in this ongoing and continuing process, Görgün stated:
“With our nearly 4,500 SMEs operating in the defence industry, our more than 1,400 projects and our project portfolio of approximately 120 billion dollars, with the authority given to us by our President, I would like to state once again that we are ready to take the steps that we can jointly develop and carry forward in every project we are working on.”
COOPERATION BEYOND SUPPLY
Görgün also touched on Saudi Arabia’s goal, within the framework of Vision 2030, of establishing centres of excellence in the defence field. Noting that several meetings have been held under the leadership of Minister Al-Khorayef with leading Turkish defence industry companies on prioritising these centres and the steps to be taken, Görgün said the Turkish side is ready to do everything in its power on this matter.
Emphasising that cooperation should not be limited to supply processes and one-off projects alone, Görgün said that by increasing interaction with GAMI, SAMI and the General Authority for Defence Development (GADD), they support and will continue to support activities that pave the way for SMEs in the sector to work with one another and invest in advanced technologies. Görgün concluded his remarks by thanking all institutions in Türkiye and Saudi Arabia that have contributed to defence industry cooperation between the two countries, as well as their former and current presidents and all those responsible.
Beyond platform supply, the Turkish defence industry is building long-term partnerships focused on joint production, technology cooperation and localisation with friendly and allied nations. The Türkiye-Saudi Arabia Defense Industry Days contributed to strengthening this partnership at the industrial base by increasing direct contacts between companies of the two countries.