Security and Defence Conference (SEDEC) is organising an event on a subject relatively unattended by the industry but which, in fact, holds a special place in the agenda. We evaluated this organisation with the SEDEC Management, highlighting an overlooked point in the framework of institutions and agencies’ coming together with demand authorities and decision makers.  

C4Defence: What is the motivation behind the organisation of SEDEC? Can you elaborate on the difference unseen in other organisations in Turkey but that you want to make?

SEDEC Coordinator Hilal Ünal: Organised with the support provided by the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) and Defence and Aerospace Industry Exporters’ Association (SSI), SEDEC will take place at Ankara Congressium between July 3-5, 2018, comprising various issues in security and defence. It is our objective at SEDEC to serve as a platform much sought after in Turkey, covering the political, technological and industrial dimensions of border security, homeland security and city/urban security. Under the umbrella of an efficient platform; politicians, decision makers, technology creators and producers integrate much closely with the sector, thus contributing to its rapid growth. With respect to themes and scope, SEDEC differs particularly from the defence industry platforms displayed at IDEF, commercial aviation and defence supply chain structures deliberated during the ICDDA, and Eurasia Airshow as the first airshow of its kind in Turkey. In this manner, Turkey will have an operative platform in which border, homeland security and internal security systems will be debated against the background of politics, industry and technology. This will definitely add momentum to the development of the indigenous industry, which holds special importance in current conjuncture.

C4Defence: Which people and institutions in and out of Turkey constitute SEDEC’s target audience?

Hilal Ünal: Within and beyond our borders, our target audience comprises the police, gendarmerie, coastal defence, search and rescue organisations, border and migration institutions, land, air and naval forces, and defence industry organisations. In other words, the end users in security sector and all procurement units constitute our priority audience. Our secondary target audience incorporates universities as producers of technology to these units, large firms and SMEs, with particular reference to technology firms in techno-parks.