Newsletters
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met Monday with two senior SpaceX executives on the sidelines of a major international space industry gathering in the Mediterranean coastal city of Antalya, according to statements from the Turkish presidency.
Erdogan received Rebecca Hunter and Michael Nicolls, both high-ranking officials at the American aerospace company founded by billionaire Elon Musk, shortly after the opening ceremony of the 77th International Astronautical Congress (IAC).
The meeting was not held one-on-one. Also present were Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu and Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacir, alongside Haluk Bayraktar, chairman of the SAHA Istanbul Defence and Aerospace Cluster, an organization representing Türkiye's defense and aerospace manufacturing sector.
Neither the presidency nor other officials disclosed what was discussed during the meeting. No agreements, statements or further details were made public following the talks.
The International Astronautical Congress is an annual gathering organized by the International Astronautical Federation that brings together government officials, aerospace executives, scientists and engineers from around the world to discuss developments in space exploration and technology.
This year's edition, the 77th, is being held at the Antalya NEST Congress Center and is scheduled to run through Friday.
The congress has in recent years served as a venue for high-level meetings between government leaders and executives from major space companies, including SpaceX, which operates satellite and launch programs used by governments and private clients globally.
Turkish officials did not specify whether the meeting touched on potential commercial, satellite or launch-related cooperation between Türkiye and SpaceX.
The presidency's readout of the meeting was limited to confirming the attendees and the setting in which the meeting took place.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
