"We are becoming a country that has a say in defense and aerospace technologies"

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the opening ceremony of MAKS-2019 Airshow.

President Erdoğan pointed out that Turkey has made a breakthrough in the aviation sector in the recent period.

"We are becoming a country that has a say in defense and aerospace technologies. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), one of the fastest-growing aerospace companies in the world, increases its exports with every passing year," he said

Turkish President added that the Turkish aerospace industry's exports reached 2.5 billion dollars in total by 2018 year-end.

The sincere and close dialogue between Turkey and Russia is fed by the two countries' long-established and multidimensional cooperation built upon a rich historical past, underlined President Erdoğan.

Talking about the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey, Erdoğan said this year keeps breaking new records. "We predict nearly 6 million Russian tourists to visit Turkey in 2019."

"Our trade volume has surpassed 25 billion dollars and the goal is 100 billion dollars. I believe the synergy we have been cultivating with Russia in aerospace technologies will help further deepen the bilateral relations," Erdoğan said. (ILKHA)