Private sector companies carrying out military shipping activities in Turkey are preparing to export technology to Southeast Asian countries, Malaysia in particular.

Turkish defense industry companies demonstrated a strong presence in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2019), the most important exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region held in Malaysia.

TAIS, formed with the merger of private sector shipyards, has introduced marine platforms in its portfolio at the fair.

A cooperation agreement has been signed between Istanbul Maritime Shipbuilding Industry and Trade Inc. (Istanbul Shipyard) and Boustead Langkawi Shipyard at the LIMA 2019 Fair.

Also, a memorandum of understanding for cooperation has been inked between Istanbul Shipyard, SEFT Ship Design, Malaysian Technology Depository Agency Berhad-TDA and University of Kuala Lumpur (Universiti Teknikal Mara).

In an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) published on Saturday, Istanbul Shipyard Business Development Coordinator Günay Uzun stated that the TAIS consortium, formed with the merger of five different shipyards in Turkey capable of building military vessels, has joined the fair with a wide range of products.

Uzun noted that Istanbul Shipyard has been maintaining its presence as an approved regional office in Malaysia for nearly two years.

Highlighting that they have made major breakthroughs in the public and private sectors in Malaysia, Uzun said, "As the most important candidate for all the projects of the Naval Forces Command and the Coast Guard Command, we have gained the ability to represent the contribution we can make in terms of both ship and boat construction and design."

Uzun said that they have visited all the shipyards in Malaysia for about two years, and have mastered all the facilities and capabilities.

"We have demonstrated what we can do by comparing the capabilities we have with the facilities Malaysia has. In this sense, we have forwarded the necessary offers to the projects that Malaysia needs urgently. As a result of these efforts, we have signed a cooperation agreement with Boustead Heavy Industries, which is directly linked to the Malaysian government."

Pointing out that there are three shipyards within Boustead, Uzun said that they signed the agreement with Boustead Langkawi Shipyard.

"In this sense, we have taken a very important step in transferring the superior aluminum processing technology which is owned by very few companies in the world in the field of aluminum boat construction and in getting involved in the projects here. We believe that we will reap the fruits of this step in a very short time. In this sense, I believe that we represent Turkey in the best way," he added.

Emphasizing that the agreement will not be limited to Malaysia, Uzun said, "Just as we consider Turkey to be a gate opening to Europe in a regional sense, we consider Malaysia to be the safest country in Southeast Asia and the closest country to Turkey in terms of perspective, and thus, have chosen it as a focal point. By taking Malaysia as a center, we will make all kinds of contributions to other Southeast Asian countries, especially in terms of maritime. The approval of the regional office we have received in the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam is in accordance with this. Our way of acting toward other countries has been determined in this sense."

SEFT Ship Design General Manager Semih Zorlu indicated that products displayed under the TAIS umbrella have been designed by their company.

Stressing that they have signed an agreement with the design office of University of Kuala Lumpur, he said, "Like our country, Malaysia has a policy of developing local and national products. The best way to keep this policy alive is to make designs with local and national means."

According to Zorlu, they have projected TCG Alemdar, TCG Akın, TCG Işın and MTA Oruç Reis, the first seismic research vessel in the country, under the SEFT umbrella. As part of the agreement signed, they will work with the university's design office on technology transfer. Zorlu expressed that the TDA company, established by the Ministry of Economy, has become a party to the deal to accelerate technology transfer.