6 February 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Turkish President Abdullah Gül on Monday said his country is willing to cooperate with South Korea in manufacturing Turkey’s new attack helicopter. “We want to cooperate with South Korea on the Atak helicopters, which will be included in the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] inventory. In addition, Turkey is also willing to cooperate with South Korea in other areas such as aircraft manufacturing,” Gül said at a press conference with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak after a meeting in Ankara.
The Atak, officially known as the TAI/AgustaWestland T-129, is an attack helicopter currently under development for the Turkish army. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has been commissioned to develop domestic avionics and weapons systems as well as helmet-mounting cuing systems.
Gül also said Turkey wanted to make nuclear energy an element of the cooperation between the two countries as the two leaders signed a declaration on Monday to establish a strategic cooperation. Gül noted that the bilateral trade volume reached $7 billion in 2011, adding that the two countries agreed to bring that figure up to $10 billion in the coming years. The Turkish president also expressed a willingness to sign a free trade agreement between Turkey and South Korea, which he said would add new momentum to trade relations.
