Turkish companies stand ready to invest in Ukraine right now, without waiting for the war to end. They are interested not only in the high-tech sector and the defence industry, which are developing rapidly during the war, but also in cooperation in the light industry and fashion production. These topics were raised during a meeting between Yuliia Svyrydenko, First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy of Ukraine, and Selçuk Bayraktar, Technical Director and co-owner of Baykar Defence, and Çağlayan Çetin, President of Trendyol Group. The meeting was also attended by Oleksandr Kamyshyn, Minister of Strategic Industries of Ukraine.

"We are grateful for the support and contribution provided by Türkiye in the most difficult period for Ukraine, especially the Turkish company Baykar, which produces Bayraktar combat drones. Today, our priorities are to attract investments to Ukraine to strengthen the country's defence capabilities both under martial law and in the post-war recovery, thereby boosting Ukraine's economic activity and contributing to the reconstruction and rehabilitation of our country.

First of all, foreign investment in the high-tech sector and the defence industry is essential for Ukraine. But we should not forget about other industries. After all, Ukrainian producers need to increase their production and export potential to enter new markets," said Yuliia Svyrydenko.

During the meeting, the parties discussed the progress of the construction of the Baykar Defence drone manufacturing plant in Ukraine and the prospects for their production and export using Ukrainian engines.

But not only the production of military products was discussed at the meeting. The Turkish company Trendyol Group (controlled by the Chinese company Alibaba Group), which is a marketplace operating in many EU countries, including Türkiye and the Middle East, and specialising in fashion and retail, plans to enter the Ukrainian market in the near future. Such cooperation should be mutually beneficial for both Amazon's Turkish analogue, which will have the opportunity to sell goods in Ukraine, and Ukrainian manufacturers, who will benefit from the popular marketplace and sell their goods for export to other countries.

"The Ukrainian fashion industry is developing well despite the war. It is crucial for us to provide domestic manufacturers and brands with access to new markets so that they can export their products to even more countries. Therefore, we welcome future cooperation between Turkish and Ukrainian businesses. In general, we are interested in the access of as many Ukrainian companies as possible to the global market," summed up Yuliia Svyrydenko.