In line with the growing relations between France and Turkey and following the visit of the French President Francoise Hollande, Turkey is now getting ready to host French aerospace and defense industry.

The French delegate comprising of 55 companies, 3 trade associations (GIFAS, GICAT and GICAN), 1 research center (ONERA) and 1 cluster (Aerospace Valley) represented by 90 people, will be arriving Istanbul on the 25th February. Participating companies represent the whole spectrum of the industry in France; from large groups such as Airbus Group, Safran and Thales, going through equipment manufacturers down to very specialized SMEs. The delegation will be staying in Turkey for 4 days and will be received by their Turkish counterparts in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir and Eskisehir in search for customers, partners and suppliers.

During the visit, DGA (the French equivalent of SSM) and SSM will be organizing Turkish – French Industry Day in Ankara on 27th February. During the Turkish-French Industrial Day, which is to be held in Sheraton Hotel Ankara under the auspices of Mr. Murad Bayar, the Undersecretary for Defense Industries, SaSaD and GIFAS chairmen as well as ODTÜ Teknokent Defence Industry Cluster (TSSK) executives will be holding speeches followed by presentations of examples of cooperation between French and Turkish companies.

Organized by GIFAS and its Turkish counterpart SaSaD, the purpose of the visit is to establish long term bilateral relationship between the two industries commensurate with their global position worldwide. And for this reason SaSaD and GIFAS will sign an MoU at the Turkish-French Industrial Day to enhance and develop further their cooperation.