“Our participation in exhibitions serves two purposes: to showcase Ukraine's presence to strengthen existing contacts and develop new ones for the future. Currently, we are not exporting, but we hope this will resume after victory when the domestic market demand decreases. We are also seeking contacts for technical cooperation to enhance and improve our production,” representatives from the National Association of Defense Industry Enterprises of Ukraine (NAUDI) commented on the results of their participation at the exhibition.
7 Ukrainian defense companies showcased their booths at SAHA EXPO in Istanbul / Photo: Olha Budnyk. Ukrinform 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4
NAUDI presented the products of leading Ukrainian companies at its booth, including Ukrainian Armored Vehicles, Kvertus, KTD Jupiter, Demining Solutions, Ukrspecsystems, "System Electronic Export", LFTX, "Aviation Systems of Ukraine", as well as state partners, including the Luch Design Bureau.
“The uniqueness of our products lies in the fact that they are all used on the battlefield and tested under real war conditions. All Association companies receive feedback from the military and improve their products according to actual needs,” stated representatives at the NAUDI booth.
At another joint booth of the Aerospace Association of Ukraine, companies such as Motor Sich, Ivchenko-Progress, FED, and Ukroboronprom were represented.
“Ukrainian aviation engines are known not only in Turkey due to cooperation with Baykar but also worldwide. It is already a well-known global brand. Ukrainian engines represent quality and reliability, proven by time and our projects. We are already collaborating, so today we came to greet,” shared a visitor from foreign delegations with Ukrinform about their impressions of the booth.
As stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his visit to the SAHA EXPO exhibition in Istanbul, contracts worth $6.2 billion have been signed during its operation, including $4.6 billion in export contracts. Among these contracts are those signed with Ukrainian companies.
“In 2002, our defense exports barely reached $248 million. We took it on and increased that figure to $5.6 billion. Just last year, we exported over 230 defense-related products to 185 countries. This year, our exports in September grew by 32 percent. In 2024, our defense enterprises broke a serious record by exporting products to 178 countries,” Erdoğan said.
As reported by Ukrinform, on the first day of the exhibition, it was visited by a Ukrainian delegation led by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba. The minister held talks with senior officials of the Turkish government and armed forces, as well as leaders of defense companies.
This year, more than 120 countries are participating in the SAHA EXPO exhibition from October 22-26, with over 1,200 companies represented in total.