More than 1,200 companies, including 200 firms from about 40 countries, will showcase their capabilities at the upcoming SAHA EXPO International Defence & Aerospace Exhibition that will take place at İstanbul Expo Center, Yeşilköy, from Oct. 22-26. The event will offer a platform for Türkiye’s rapidly growing defence industry to showcase its latest innovations.
Organized by SAHA Istanbul, Türkiye’s and Europe’s largest industrial cluster, the event will be held under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Türkiye, with the support of six Ministries and the Presidency of Defence Industries. More than 500 official and commercial delegations and more than 150,000 visitors are expected at the exhibition that has an export-oriented business volume of more than USD 2 billion as its target. The event, in which companies will showcase the latest innovations and solutions in the defence sector, will be held in an area covering 90,000 square meters.
SAHA EXPO has achieved a success that is unprecedented in the world in a very short time, said SAHA Istanbul Secretary General Levent Kerim Uça. “We held our exhibition, which started in a small area in 2018, in an area of 40,000 square meters in 2021. The exhibition area increased to 60,000 square meters in 2022, and this year, it is going up to 90,000 square meters. There is no example in the world of a sectoral exhibition growing by 50 percent every year in such a short period of time, that is, by adding a new exhibition on top of it almost every year.”
Over US$2 billion in Economic Value
“This year, we expect to reach an economic value of more than US$ 2 billion, with more than 1,200 exhibitors, over 500 official and commercial delegations, 150,000 visitors. 25,000 B2B meetings and signing ceremonies wiill be held during the exhibition,” said Uça: “In other words, in an environment where our defence and aerospace industry is breaking records in every sense, we, as SAHA EXPO, aim to break new records.”
About 200 international companies in the defence and aerospace sector from approximately 40 countries and five continents are expected to attend the upcoming event, offering an opportunity for Türkiye’s local companies and visitors to meet and interact with them. According to Uça, industry professionals from Türkiye and abroad will discuss issues pertinent to the industry and try and offer solutions to some of the challenges it faces. “We characterize SAHA EXPO not only as an exhibition, but also as a meeting place where all professionals who are stakeholders in the sector come together,” he said.
Official Delegations
The organisers expect to host around 400 members of official delegations from different countries of the world and important international organizations such as NATO this year. Visits by Prime ministers, ministers, chiefs of staff and lower-level officials are anticipated.
“In 2022, the UK Defence Minister visited SAHA EXPO,” said Uça. “Again, this year, we expect similar international high-level visitors to our exhibition. We aim to bring official delegations together with our domestic companies, especially SME-scale domestic companies in the fields they are interested in… Perhaps for the first time in Türkiye, there will be such a wide range of commercial procurement delegations at a sectoral exhibition for the defence industry. We are planning around 150 commercial procurement delegations at this year’s exhibition.”
Open to the Public for Two Days
“The exhibition was organized over 4 days in the past years, ” said Uça. “Due to the intense interest from citizens, the duration has been extended to 5 days. The number of days of the exhibition open to the public has been increased to two for citizens who want to experience the latest technological developments in the field of defence, aviation and civil aviation industry. Friday, Oct. 25, and Saturday, Oct. 26, will be public days with entry for those above 18.”
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