A press conference was held at the OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Conference Hall to promote the 6th Industrial Cooperation Days in Defense and Aerospace (ICDDA) event, which will be organized by the OSTİM Defense and Aerospace Cluster (OSSA) with the support of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey's Defense Industry Directorate and will take place at the ATO Congresium on April 17-19, 2024.
At the meeting, which was attended by the Deputy Presidency of the Defense Industry, Prof. Dr. İhsan Kaya, and the Head of the Industrialization Department, Murat Çizgel, OSSA Coordinator Dr. Semih Yiğit provided information about the achievements of past events from 2013 to 2022. OSSA Board Chairman İbrahim Yarsan and OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Board Chairman Orhan Aydın shared information about the event.
“ICDDA has gained significant value for SMEs”
OSSA Chairman of the Board, İbrahim Yarsan, explained that they plan to elevate ICDDA to a higher level than previous events. Highlighting the importance of the support from the Presidency of Defence Industries, Yarsan thanked other institutions and organizations supporting ICDDA.
Pointing out that the aviation sector is growing steadily alongside the defense industry, the OSSA President stated that ICDDA has gained significant value for SMEs. Yarsan said: “As OSSA, we are also striving to ensure that our SMEs have a strong position in the global order. Our Presidency of Defense Industry is in a leading position here. As SMEs, we are trying to fulfill our duties behind them. Although our SMEs meet with international companies at ICDDA, many of our main contractors also establish connections and contacts. We believe that with our country's current position and increasing value, we will become even stronger and will find a significant place here as well. We expect that the value that OSSA has brought to its members since its establishment will increase even more at ICDDA.”
“Clustering creates value for companies”
OSTİM OSB Board Chairman Orhan Aydın pointed out that OSSA is an organic cluster. He noted that OSSA, as a self-governing structure that shares the resources and capabilities of its members with the sector, has reached its current state with the support of the Presidency of Defense Industry and the Ministry of Trade.
Aydın continued: “When we talk about clustering, we have three magic phrases: cooperation, synergy, and collaborative competition. We see that this creates value and contributes to our companies. We know that our companies believe in this as well. The industrialization policy of our Presidency of Defense Industry is extremely critical for SMEs.”
ICDDA is critical for domestic and national products
Deputy Head of the Presidency of Defence Industries, Prof. Dr. İhsan Kaya, thanked everyone who contributes to the mission undertaken by the Presidency of Defence Industries through organizations like ICDDA. Kaya said, "It is very valuable for us as well. In a sense, they are taking a burden off our shoulders."
Kaya stated that the number of participating countries and bilateral cooperation meetings at ICDDA were valuable, saying, “Our localization rate, which was around 20% in 2022, is now around 80%, and we intend to increase it to 85% within the next 5 years. Our main motivation here is to strive to make the products needed by the defense industry as national and local as possible through clusters. In this respect, this organization is very critical. Bringing together so many different participants from different countries and Turkey and seeing what can be done is very valuable.”
Kaya stated that they have prepared the 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, noting that they consider the most important awareness to be a sustainable export policy. Highlighting the necessity of developing international cooperation, Kaya pointed to the SSB's EYDEP and YETEN platforms, saying, "These gain much more meaning when combined with such organizations. With the program to be held in April, I believe that the statistics that have emerged so far will be surpassed in a much more effective way, and very beneficial outcomes will be achieved for both SSB and Turkish industry. I wish it to be successful and would like to thank everyone who contributed and worked hard."
With its increasing number of participants and collaboration meetings at each event, ICDDA stands out as a leading event in the sector and will bring together global giants of the defense and aerospace industry with Turkish SMEs in 2024. Detailed information about the event can be accessed at https://www.icdda.com.tr/.
Photos
