ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have signed 24 framework agreements to bolster cooperation among their defense industries, Emirati conglomerate Edge Group announced Wednesday.
The agreements follow several years of political disputes between the two nations, which decided to reconcile their differences in 2022. And the two countries in July 2023 signed 13 agreements valued at $50.7 billion, which saw the UAE invest in Turkey’s defense and space sectors.
The accords were signed during a defense industry event in Ankara, Turkey, jointly held by Istanbul-based defense expo business SAHA and Edge Group. The gathering included 10 of Edge Group’s subsidiaries and 125 Turkish defense companies.
The Turkish firms included military electronics specialist Aselsan, the country’s largest defense company; aeronautical technology heavyweight Turkish Aerospace Industries; missile maker Roketsan; drone manufacturer Baykar; military software producer Havelsan; and the state-controlled defense technologies firm STM.
“There is already a large-scale defense industry cooperation with the UAE. At this event we signed letters of intent to upgrade this relationship with the participation of small and medium-sized [defense] entities. We are aiming at synergy,” said Haluk Bayraktar, SAHA’s president and board chairman of Baykar.
As part of the new agreements, Edge Group has set up an organization in the UAE dubbed MALATH to handle the conglomerate’s cooperation with SAHA.
“MALATH’s only task is to coordinate UAE-Turkey defense programs. These programs will involve joint projects, direct [defense industry] trade, investment and co-production,” Bayraktar said.
Burak Ege Bekdil is the Turkey correspondent for Defense News.
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