Turkish defense minister attends Doha defense expo

By Sarp Ozer

DOHA (AA) - Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli attended the opening of the Doha International Maritime Defense Exhibition and Conference (DIMDEX 2018), which kicked off Monday in the Qatari capital.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the event, Canikli said Turkey plans to use new locally-manufactured ammunition in its ongoing Operation Olive Branch in Syria’s Afrin.

“The testing phase of certain products will end in early April,” he said.

“Following the successful completion of the testing phase, these products will then be distributed to the Turkish Armed Forces,” he added.

According to the defense minister, 33 Turkish firms in the defense and maritime-security fields are participating at this year’s DIMDEX exhibition.

The three-day event will also be attended by Qatar’s deputy emir, Abdullah bin Hamad Al Thani; Qatari Defense Minister Khaled al-Attiyah; Turkish Army Chief-of-Staff Hulusi Akar; and numerous military officials from both countries.

Some 180 companies from more than 60 countries are taking part in the annual event, which is expected to see a number of important maritime-defense deals signed.

Launched in 2008, DIMDEX is considered the Middle East and North Africa’s largest event devoted exclusively to maritime security, with a total of $32 billion in deals being signed at the last five exhibitions.

In June of last year, Ismail Demir, Turkish undersecretary for defense industries, told Anadolu Agency that Turkey aims to employ only domestically-designed defense technologies by the year 2020.