Türkiye to highlight defense industry at NATO summit in Ankara: FM

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) speaks at a joint press conference with visiting Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev in Ankara, Trkiye, July 1, 2026. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced on Wednesday that the defense industry will take center stage at the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, with a special forum on the issue to be held on the sidelines. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

ANKARA, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced on Wednesday that the defense industry will take center stage at the upcoming North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Ankara, with a special forum on the issue to be held on the sidelines.

Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev in the Turkish capital, Fidan outlined key agenda items for the July 7-8 summit.

"Recent developments have shown that production capacity, efficiency, diversity, and the level of dependency in the defense industry have become equally important for the alliance," Fidan said.

He added that issues related to defense production and preparedness are now among NATO's top priorities.

According to Fidan, allied nations are expected to review decisions from the previous two summits, with a focus on burden sharing, NATO's evolving strategic outlook under what he referred to as "NATO 3.0," and European deterrence amid ongoing conflicts and rising global instability.