Gunpowder Factory to be Built in North Macedonia with Turkish Investment

14 april 2025

Turkish state-owned defence company Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi (MKE) and Macedonian ammunition manufacturer ATS Group have signed a strategic cooperation memorandum that envisages the construction of a gunpowder factory in North Macedonia. BalkanEngineer.com has learned this from an official confirmation of the news by MKE through a social media post. According to the statement, the project aims to increase local production capacity and deepen cooperation between the two countries in the defense industry.

The signing of the memorandum took place on 27 March 2025 and was carried out by MKE Director General Ilhami Keles and ATS Group CEO Shefshet Demirovsky. Among the attendees were North Macedonia's Minister of Defence Vlado Misailovski, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Timcho Mucunski and Turkey's Deputy Minister of National Defence Heibet Musa.

According to official information, the memorandum includes joint investments, technology transfer and the establishment of new production lines by MKE, using the accumulated experience and technological capacity of ATS Group. The project is supported by the Government of North Macedonia and is expected to lead to the creation of new jobs and increased economic activity in the defence industry sector.

ATS Group is the only Macedonian company in the defence sector and unites four companies with over 500 employees. In July 2024, the company announced its intention to invest USD 100 million in the construction of a small arms ammunition factory in the US.

On the Turkish side, MKE has an active policy of building strategic partnerships in the Balkans. In December 2024, the company signed an agreement with the government of Kosovo to build an ammunition factory in the country.

Turkey's Deputy Minister of National Defense Heibet Musa said the signed memorandum represents not only technical cooperation but also a confirmation of bilateral relations between Turkey and North Macedonia. He said the project will have a long-term effect on industrial development and will benefit the entire region.

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