Görgün in New York: Türkiye–U.S. defence ties to deepen in second century
Türkiye’s defence procurement chief, Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün, says Ankara intends to keep building defence-industrial ties with Washington as the two countries enter the second century of diplomatic relations.
Görgün, President of the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), was part of the Turkish delegation at “100 Years of Friendship: Türkiye–United States”, a gala held in New York on the evening of 21 September on the sidelines of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly. The event was organised by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the U.S.-Türkiye Business Council and hosted by Hamdi and Louise Ulukaya.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan led the Turkish side, joined by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat and several other cabinet members. U.S. attendees included Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, UN Ambassador Mike Waltz, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack.
“Mutual trust and the law of alliance”
In a statement after the evening, Görgün said he had met members of the Turkish-American community alongside figures from business, academia and the arts. He added:
“In the second century of our diplomatic relations, we will continue to advance our cooperation in strategic fields, above all the defence industry, on the basis of mutual trust and the law of alliance.”
The phrasing is deliberate. Defence has long been the most sensitive file between the two NATO allies, and it was back on the agenda the same week, when Foreign Minister Fidan said “creative ideas” were being discussed on the S-400 question and lifting CAATSA sanctions.
Exports as the calling card
Erdoğan used his own remarks at the gala to put numbers on the sector’s growth. Annual defence exports, he said, stood at just $248 million two decades ago and now exceed $10 billion, while Türkiye’s share of global defence exports has risen by more than 120 per cent in five years. Joining the world’s top ten defence exporters, he argued, is a realistic near-term goal.
Bilateral trade, currently about $40 billion a year, was the other headline, with both governments restating a $100 billion target.
The New York visit followed a busy stretch at home for Görgün. Speaking in Denizli days earlier, he put the sector’s local content rate at 83 per cent and its trailing 12-month defence and aerospace exports at roughly $11 billion. SSB treats co-production and supply-chain partnerships with American firms as one route to widening that export base.
Sources: HİBYA News Agency, Habertürk.
