The Minister of State for Defence, Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, MON, led Nigeria’s delegation to SAHA Expo 2026, the global defence and aerospace exhibition held in Istanbul from 5th to 9th May 2026.
The five-day exhibition attracted over 1,700 companies, including 263 international firms, and more than 30,000 industry professionals from over 120 countries, a statement by Queeneth Iheoma-Hart, Chief Information Officer noted.
Dr. Matawalle and his delegation attended the official opening ceremony alongside the Special Guest of Honour, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, Minister of Industry and Technology of the Republic of Türkiye; Türkiye’s Minister of National Defence, Yaşar Güler; and other senior representatives.
SAHA Expo 2026 Chairman, Haluk Bayraktar, formally inaugurated the exhibition, describing it as “a meeting point for minds that will dominate technology.”
The Minister and his delegation visited exhibition booths of prospective defence partners, including Nigeria’s indigenous Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria (DICON). He also held strategic meetings with key international stakeholders, including Vugar Mustafayev, Minister of Defence Industry of the Republic of Azerbaijan.
The meeting, attended by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal S.K. Aneke, focused on advancing the operational capacity of the Armed Forces of Nigeria through strategic partnerships with DICON and other global defence firms.
Dr. Matawalle stated: “Nigeria is moving from buying and selling to building solid partnerships with reliable defence partners.”
