Erdogan says Turkey, Serbia will jointly develop defence industry

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that Turkey and Serbia had decided to carry out joint work on developing their defence industry and that Turkish drones would be part of bilateral cooperation.

"Turkey and Serbia need to take a step together, but this step is the formation of a defence industry among ourselves to ensure the preservation of peace," Erdogan said in Belgrade alongside Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic.

International demand for Turkish drones, primarily Baykar's Bayraktar TB2 drones, has soared after their impact on conflicts in Syria, Libya, Azerbaijan and Ukraine. Baykar has said it has signed export agreements with some 30 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, Ethiopia, Kosovo, and Poland.


"Turkey's capabilities in drones will of course be part the steps taken on the defence industry," Erdogan said.

He said Ankara and Belgrade would utilise their resources "as two friendly countries" to fine-tune their cooperation, warning that no other country should try to interfere even if they are unhappy with it.

On Thursday, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said during a visit by Erdogan that Ankara would give Tirana a "considerable" number of kamikaze drones of an unspecified type. The two sides are NATO allies and Tirana already acquired a fleet of Bayraktar reconnaissance and attack drones. (Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jonathan Spicer)