Türkiye and Hungary have established a working group to collaborate in the defense industry.
"We have taken the first steps to establish new partnerships in strategic areas such as unmanned air and land systems, simulation and training technologies, test and innovation centers," Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said at the first ministerial meeting of the Türkiye-Hungary Defense Innovation Working Group held in Ankara.
Kacır said that the seeds of new cooperation that will serve the common interests of the two countries have been sown.
The surge in bilateral trade volume with Hungary is an important result of the common understanding, he added.
The trade volume between Türkiye and Hungary jumped by eight times in the last 22 years to $4.4 billion, he said.
Kacır stated that the elevation of ties between the two countries to the level of "enhanced strategic partnership" paved the way for further cooperation.
"At the 6th Meeting of the Türkiye-Hungary High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council, we decided to celebrate 2025 as the 'Türkiye-Hungary Year of Science and Innovation',” he said.
The Türkiye-Hungary Year of Science and Innovation will be opened in the coming days during the Turkish minister’s visit to Hungary, he said.
Kacır highlighted that one of the strategic outcomes of the council meeting for the two countries was the R&D and Innovation Cooperation Agreement in the Field of Defense Technologies.
For his part, Hungarian Defense Minister Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky drew attention to the fact that the two countries have established important cooperation in many areas, including the defense industry.
Noting that the Turkish army is the second largest power in NATO, he said that Hungary is proud to form an alliance with Türkiye directly and through NATO.
Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that Hungary has gained from this agreement and the strategic cooperation that extends to the defense industry as Türkiye's innovation and defense industry are among the leading powers in the world.
