Mevlana Development Agency, operating in the TR-52 Konya-Karaman Region under the coordination of the T.R. Ministry of Industry and Technology General Directorate of Development Agencies, organized the Konya Defense Industry B2B Event under the leadership of the T.R. Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), in cooperation with Konya Chamber of Industry, Konya Chamber of Commerce, Karaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Beyşehir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Holistic Security, Health and Technology Cluster.

The event, held at Ramada Hotel, was attended by; Konya Deputy Governor Mustafa Gündoğan, Head of Industrialization Department of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Murat Çizgel, Karaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mustafa Gökhan Alkan, Mevlana Development Agency Secretary General Dr. İhsan Bostancı, Konya Provincial Director of Industry and Technology Vehbi Konarılı, Karaman Provincial Director of Industry and Technology Bayram Güzel, MÜSİAD Karaman Branch President Musa Akgül, Konya Technology Industrial Zone Manager Sezai Öztürk, executives from ASELSAN, ASELSAN Konya, HAVELSAN, ROKETSAN, STM, and TUSAŞ, representatives of chambers and commodity exchanges, companies operating in the defense industry sector in Konya and Karaman provinces, and many other guests.

Speaking at the opening of the program organized by the Agency, Mevlana Development Agency Secretary General Dr. İhsan Bostancı said, “The concept of defense, which has always had strategic importance for states to survive and protect their existence since the earliest ages of history, has been seen as one of the most important public services of states and has taken its place as a fundamental and essential element of the existence and sovereignty of the state in today's modern state understanding. The defense industry, which develops depending on the efforts of states around the world to defend themselves against internal and external threats and to continue their existence, is a sector that has long technology and product development processes and requires high levels of R&D expenditures. The defense industry, which also has the characteristic of being a locomotive within industrial branches as an area to which large amounts of resources are economically transferred, makes positive contributions to qualified employment and affects the economic power of countries and regions by accelerating the development process. When we look at our Turkish defense industry, we witness that as a nation, we have begun to reap the fruits of investments made by both our state and the private sector, especially in recent years, and we are just as proud. With new projects and new investments implemented under the leadership of our state, our country is no longer just a market in the global defense industry sector with many domestic vehicles, weapons, and equipment it produces and its ever-developing defense industry ecosystem; it has become a regional and even a global player. When we look at the export data in the defense industry, we see that as a country, we achieved 5.7 Billion Dollars of exports in the first 11 months of 2024. We see that Konya has 3.2 Billion Dollars of exports in all sectors in the first 11 months, and its defense industry exports amount to 151 Million Dollars. According to these figures, our city's defense industry exports correspond to approximately 5% of its general exports, and these figures also position our city as the 4th province in our country with the highest defense industry exports, following Istanbul, Ankara, and Eskişehir. At this point, I would like to wholeheartedly thank our Presidency of Defense Industries, which plays a leading role in achieving these successes and makes great contributions by putting not just its hand but its whole body under the stone for this mission undertaken by our country, as well as our main defense industry companies; ROKETSAN, HAVELSAN, TUSAŞ, ASELSAN, ASELSAN Konya, MKE, and STM, our public institutions, private sector representatives, and defense industry companies in our region. Within the scope of the studies carried out by our Agency for the defense industry, active field studies have been conducted since 2015 to increase the capacities of companies operating in the defense industry sector in our region and to develop domestic and national defense industry products, reports on the defense industry ecosystem covering Konya and Karaman provinces have been prepared, and a coordination role has been undertaken between defense industry companies in the region and our main defense industry companies. In addition to all these, 210 Million TL support has been provided to 57 projects to date to ensure the integration of defense industry companies in our region into the domestic and national defense industry, mobilizing an investment of 420 Million TL in our region with beneficiary co-financing. Finally, a comprehensive field study was conducted by our Agency in coordination with Defense Technologies Engineering Inc. for 40 companies operating in the defense industry sector in our region or having the potential to produce in this field, and these studies were reported. With this study, as an Agency, we aimed to contribute to the development of the defense industry in the region, to reveal higher value-added products and technologies that our companies can produce with their production infrastructure, technology, and capabilities in their respective sectors, to ensure that a defense industry actor like STM, which has achieved the success of being among the world's top 100 defense companies, communicates with our ecosystem, and to evaluate potential future cooperation opportunities. As a result of the studies carried out, with the guidance of our Agency, the number of companies entering YETEN (Capability Inventory), which is the first step for businesses wishing to do business with the Presidency of Defense Industries and its affiliated organizations, reached 120; the number of companies in the region with Presidency of Defense Industries Industrial Competence Assessment and Support Program (EYDEP) certification increased to 20; Aselsan Konya Weapon Systems Inc.'s supplier rate from Konya-Karaman province reached 37% from 7%; and very valuable outputs were obtained for our region and country, such as increased participation in cluster organizations like BÜSAT and SAHA Istanbul. In addition, the 40 company reports, 2 provincial reports, and 1 regional report revealed as a result of this study were shared with main industry companies in the defense field. With the B2B event organized by our Agency, we aimed to bring together the 40 regional companies analyzed in the Defense Sector Capability Atlas study with main industry companies under the leadership of our Presidency of Defense Industries. Within the scope of the event, numerous business meetings will be held between main defense industry companies ASELSAN, ASELSAN Konya, HAVELSAN, ROKETSAN, STM, TUSAŞ and companies producing or having production potential in the defense industry field in our region. We have full faith that many new collaborations and business connections will be formed on a win-win basis as a result of this organized event. As an Agency, stating that our efforts for the defense industry sector, which is of strategic importance for both our region and our country and has positive contributions to many sectors, will continue increasingly, I thank our Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), Konya Chamber of Industry, Konya Chamber of Commerce, Karaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Beyşehir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Konya Technology Industrial Zone, Holistic Security, Health and Technology Cluster for their valuable cooperation, and all our Agency employees, especially Head of Economic Development Unit Osman Fatih Yalçın, who put great effort into realizing the event, and I wish the bilateral business meetings program to be beneficial for our companies, ecosystem, region, and country” he stated.  

Then, Karaman Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Mustafa Gökhan Alkan said, “The defense industry is a catalyst and driving sector that pioneers the development of many sectors and the emergence of new technologies. At this point, we are pleased that the Konya and Karaman Region has great potential. We are happy that Konya is among the provinces with the highest exports in the defense industry. Karaman also has the strength to contribute to this process with its production infrastructure and human resources. As a chamber, we continue our efforts to transfer this great production potential that Konya has achieved in the defense industry to Karaman and for our companies to establish new collaborations. Today, our companies from Karaman will also hold many bilateral business meetings within the scope of the program; our hope is that new collaborations and business connections will be established from these meetings.”

Subsequently, Head of Industrialization Department of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Murat Çizgel said, “The defense industry sector, as we all know, is an area where states around the world make large investments and allocate large shares from their economies. Our state is also in a great breakthrough at this point, especially in recent years, and has begun to reap its fruits. With the great contributions of our private sector companies to these efforts led by our state, our country has now reached a position where it can produce many technologies and products it previously purchased and has become a playmaker in the defense industry. As the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), we continue our efforts uninterruptedly with our main defense industry companies within our structure to contribute to the mission undertaken by our state in this field and to make our country stronger against internal and external threats. When we look at the work done by Konya in the defense industry, where we came today through bilateral business meetings, we see that it has achieved great success, especially in recent years, with its equipment, production infrastructure, and trained manpower. At this point, the fact that Konya ranks as the 4th province in our country with the highest exports in the defense industry is actually the most concrete indicator of this success. I believe that the business meetings to be held today between our main defense industry companies and companies in the Konya and Karaman Region will also make very important contributions to this process, and I thank everyone who contributed.”

Finally, Konya Deputy Governor Mustafa Gündoğan, who came to the podium, said in his speech, “The defense industry sector, which brings us together today, is an integrated organization where countries carry out production, design, and R&D activities to meet their military needs and develop their defense capabilities. When we look at the world in general, we see that states take great responsibility at this point and play an encouraging and guiding role for the private sector. At this point, our country is also in a great effort to meet its military vehicles, weapon systems, communication technologies, cybersecurity, and other defense products and services needed in the fight against internal and external elements it sees as threats, with domestic and national means. At the point reached, with the incentives of our state and the integration of our private sector into this situation, we closely witness that our country has risen to the status of countries that can produce and export many military technologies it needs. What is important here is to make this sustainable and carry it further. At this point, we are extremely pleased that our private sector companies also contribute by undertaking great responsibility for this momentum achieved by our country in line with the goals of increasing domestic and national production and reducing foreign dependency. I believe that these bilateral business meetings organized in cooperation with our Presidency of Defense Industries and our Agency will also have very positive contributions to this process.”

After the opening speeches, more than 100 focused business meetings were held between companies producing or having production potential in the defense industry in Konya and Karaman provinces and main defense industry companies ASELSAN, ASELSAN Konya, HAVELSAN, ROKETSAN, STM, and TUSAŞ.

In the evaluation meeting held after the program, it was stated by the representatives of the main defense industry companies that the contacts established between the parties during the meetings were very positive, many new collaborations and business connections were established between the main defense industry companies and regional companies, and that regional companies have great potential in producing new products for the domestic and national defense industry.