Turkish firm to market Nimr military vehicles

16 May 2013 Haseeb Haider - khaleejtimes.com

Nimr Automotive, a part of Tawazun Group, has signed an agreement with a Turkish firm to market, and possibly produce armoured vehicles in Turkey.

The Abu Dhabi-based firm, which is known for manufacturing military vehicles, has signed a cooperation agreement with FNSS Savunma Sistemleri, a leading manufacturer and supplier of armoured combat vehicles and weapon systems for the Turkish Armed Forces and Allied Armed Forces.

The agreement will allow the two companies to work together to set up a project, which will pave the way for FNSS to market, sell and possibly produce Nimr vehicles in Turkey for the Turkish market.

The agreement was signed last week on the sideline of the 11th International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF 2013) in Istanbul by Nimr Automotive general manager Mohamed Musabah Al Mazrouei and general manager and chief executive of FNSS Defence Systems Kadir Nail Kurt.

Saif Mohamed Al Hajeri, chief executive officer of Tawazun, Murad Bayar, Undersecretary of Defence Industries at the Turkish Defence Ministry, and a number of high ranking UAE and Turkish officials were also present on the occasion.

After the signing ceremony, Al Hajeri said his company will be working with FNSS on identifying new business opportunities and joint development and production programs in both the UAE and Turkey. He said the agreement will certainly help cement “our long-standing and fruitful cooperation with the leading defence manufacturing companies in Turkey.”

Mohamed Al Mazrouei described the agreement as “culmination of the long standing cooperation between the UAE and Turkey.”

“The agreement provides a solid basis for a long-term cooperation and exchange of expertise between Nimr and FNSS and allows them to complement each other’s capabilities and resources in the fields of military vehicles manufacturing,” he added.

Tawazun is a strategic investment firm focused on the long-term development of UAE’s industrial manufacturing and technology capabilities and knowledge-transfer with a specific focus on the defence sector.

Established in 2007 by Tawazun Economic Council, Tawazun’s mission is to develop profitable ventures through industrial partnerships and strategic investments that add to the country’s industrial manufacturing layer in the areas of defence, defence manufacturing and manufacturing technology.