On Tuesday, 22 October, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha took part in the official opening ceremony of SAHA EXPO 2024, one of the world's largest defence exhibitions, in Istanbul.

Haluk Bayraktar, CEO of the Turkish company Baykar Makina and Chairman of SAHA EXPO 2024, invited Andriy Sybiha to deliver a speech at the official opening and presented him with a symbolic gift, a model of the KIZILELMA supersonic jet UAV with Ukrainian symbols.

In his speech, the Minister stressed that cooperation between Ukraine and Türkiye is the driving force behind bilateral relations. He expressed his gratitude to the Turkish side and personally to Haluk Bayraktar for military assistance and support to Ukraine in countering Russian aggression.

‘Today is the 972nd day of the full-scale Russian invasion. Ukraine continues to defend itself. We are grateful to our Turkish partners for their solidarity and assistance. We need additional support from all our partners to overcome Russian aggression and restore a comprehensive, just and lasting peace,’ the minister said.

The Foreign Minister also called on Turkish companies to actively invest in the development of Ukraine's defence industry, which is currently one of the most dynamic in the world.

During the exhibition, the Foreign Minister took part in the signing of important contracts between representatives of the Ukrainian defence industry and Turkish companies.

The Minister held separate bilateral talks with Haluk Görgün, Head of the Defence Industry Secretariat of the Republic of Türkiye, where the parties discussed the prospects for the development of defence cooperation and the need to hold a regular meeting of the joint commission on military-technical cooperation in Ukraine.

Haluk Görgün assured of the readiness of the Turkish defence industry to deepen cooperation with Ukraine.

The main topics of the Minister's talks with the Commander of the Turkish Army, Army General Selçuk Bayraktaroglu, were topical issues of cooperation in the defence and military-technical spheres and the implementation of joint projects.

The Foreign Minister held a joint meeting with Turkish Minister of Science and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kadir, Baykar CEO Haluk Bayraktar, and TÜBİTAK SAGE CEO Kemal Topalömer. The key topics included prospects for cooperation, the importance of dialogue between companies, and the possibility of supplying critical weapons and military equipment to Ukrainian soldiers.

During the SAHA EXPO 2024 defence exhibition, Andriy Sybiga also met with Baykar's Technical Director Selcuk Bayraktar, during which the parties noted the positive dynamics of cooperation between Ukraine and Turkey in the development and production of UAVs.

‘We hope that Baykar will soon start mass production of its UAVs in Ukraine,’ the minister said.