Türkiye vows to bolster NATO role with domestic defense capabilities

Türkiye will continue to contribute to the future of NATO with its indigenous and national defense capabilities, Defense Industries Secretary Haluk Gorgun said Thursday.

“Within the scope of the IISS Prague Defense Summit, we met with NATO Secretary General Mr. Mark Rutte,” Gorgun wrote on Turkish social media platform NSosyal.

He said their talks focused on the strong potential of Türkiye’s defense industry, the agile structure of the Defense Industries Secretariat, and its strong coordination capacity.

“Dear Secretary General, once again praising our defense industry openly, emphasized the contribution of this strong ecosystem to NATO’s deterrence,” Gorgun said.

He emphasized that, with more than 3,500 companies ranging from main contractors to subcontractors and over 100,000 employees, the Turkish defense sector is a robust ecosystem that adds value to international cooperation.

“Türkiye will not only fulfill its responsibilities within NATO but will also continue to contribute to the future of the alliance with the indigenous and national capabilities it has developed,” he noted.

Gorgun added that Türkiye will present its input on Europe’s defense vision at the panel “The Future Face of European Defense Industry” during the Prague summit.

“We thank him for expressing the development of our defense industry and its increasingly strengthening structure at every opportunity and for emphasizing its contribution to NATO's collective deterrence,” he said.