Turkey leads Islam world in defense, official says

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Turkey surpasses all Muslim nations in defense sector, Bayar says. AA Photo

Turkey is the sole Muslim country with a potential to succeed in the defense industry, according to Murad Bayar, the country’s Undersecretary for the Defense Industry.

Speaking at an Ankara congress held by the Turkish Asian Center for Strategic Studies (TASAM), Bayar said he had inspected and compared the defense industry facilities of the entire Muslim region.
“Pakistan, Egypt, Malaysia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan … I have seen defense capabilities and factories of all the nations in the Islamic world. I can make such a conclusion: The only country with a chance to succeed is Turkey,” he said.

Turkey heavily invests in defense technologies and also aims to benefit the non-defense sectors, the undersecretary said, adding: “These investments feed the technology basis of the country.”

Bayar said that Turkey aimed to develop its national fighter aircrafts, helicopters and frigates by 2023, the 100th anniversary of the modern republic, but the country’s current capabilities were not enough to meet the deadline and various state bodies must work together to attain this goal.