ISTANBUL, July 25 (Xinhua) -- Türkiye's 16th International Defence Industry Fair kicked off in its largest city Istanbul on Tuesday with a wide range of new products being showcased for three days.
According to the event's official website, the fair started to be held every two years since 1993 and grew to be one of the prestigious defense industry events worldwide.
The event is hosted by the Turkish Defense Ministry under the auspices of the Turkish presidency, with the last edition attracting 1,238 exhibitors and 68,795 visitors from more than 90 countries in 2021.
Turkish contractors' latest developments, military and technology products, and the Turkish defense industry's breakthroughs will be in the spotlight of the fair, the state-run TRT television reported.
One of the remarkable debuts will be made by Aselsan, Türkiye's leading defense company, with its newly produced air defense missile system GOKSUR and mobile laser weapon system GOKBERK, it said.
In a video address to the event, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye's defense export achieved "a record level of nearly 2.4 billion U.S. dollars" in the first six months of 2023 and aimed to reach an annual level of 6 billion dollars.
He expressed hopes that Türkiye could make more arm sales contracts at the ongoing event. ■
