Important messages at the International Ayder Forum! "Energy, Security, and Diplomacy" were discussed.

15.01.2026 19:27

The 2nd International Ayder Forum held this year in Rize brought together ministers and international representatives under the theme "Energy, Security, and Diplomacy." Important messages were conveyed at the forum, which was attended by the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, the Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu, the Minister of Economy and Energy of the TRNC Olgun Amcaoğlu, the former Minister of Energy and the head of the Turkish Delegation to the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization Fatih Dönmez, as well as local and foreign press members.

The world-famous tourism center Ayder Plateau is hosting the 'Ayder Forum', which is being held for the second time this year. The organization, which will conclude on January 17, focuses on global energy policies, artificial intelligence technologies, and sustainable energy strategies.

Among the keynote speakers at the forum are Hakan Gültekin, Project President of the International Ayder Forum, Rize Mayor Rahmi Metin, Rize Governor İhsan Selim Baydaş, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party Hayati Yazıcı, Deputy Chairman of the AK Party Ömer İleri, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar, Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu, Minister of Economy and Energy of the TRNC Olgun Amcaoğlu, former Minister of Energy and Head of the Turkish Delegation to the BSEC Fatih Dönmez.

"THIS FORUM IS NOT A ONE-OFF EVENT, BUT A THINKING PLATFORM"

Hakan Gültekin, Project President of the International Ayder Forum, stated in his speech, "As the International Ayder Forum Association, we had a single goal when we started our journey. To bring Rize and Ayder not only to the peak of tourism but also to the summit of global ideas and diplomacy. As you may recall, last year we held the first Ayder Forum here with a very valuable delegation, focusing on logistics and transportation. It is a great pride for us to see that the seeds we planted that day have now blossomed and that this issue has turned into an international diplomacy table. This forum is not a one-off event; it is a sustainable thinking and evaluation platform that opens up from Rize to the world," he expressed.

THE THEME FOR NEXT YEAR WILL BE "HEALTH"

Fatih Dönmez, one of the moderators of the forum and former Minister of Energy and Head of the Turkish Delegation to the BSEC, stated that they addressed the topic of "logistics" at the first forum held last year. Dönmez expressed that this year's topic has been determined as "energy" and that next year's third forum will be held under the theme of "health." He noted that discussions will include classical energy, conventional energy sources, renewable energy sources, carbon-free energy production possibilities, and the steps taken in this direction, stating, "I believe this forum will make significant contributions to deepening energy collaborations in the Black Sea region and taking concrete steps."

"TURKEY WILL BECOME A NET EXPORTER IN ENERGY AND MINERALS"

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who delivered important messages in his speech, stated that they aim to eliminate foreign dependency in energy. Bayraktar said, "We say with the vision put forth by our President in the 'Century of Turkey'; we will absolutely eliminate Turkey's foreign dependency in energy, and hopefully, Turkey will become a net exporter in energy and minerals. We aim for an independent Turkey that has eliminated foreign dependency in energy."

"ALONG WITH CLEAN ENERGY, ETHICAL ENERGY SHOULD ALSO BE ADDRESSED"

Health Minister Kemal Memişoğlu emphasized the importance of "ethical energy." Memişoğlu stated, "We always talk about clean energy, but there should also be ethical energy. We should not use a system that will destroy, conflict, or exploit people to obtain energy, and we need to teach this to some civilizations and countries outside of us. That is why this forum is very important," he expressed.

In the session titled "Energy and Artificial Intelligence," held at the forum, Dr. Ekrem Teymur, Chairman of the Board of News.com and an expert in Artificial Intelligence & Probabilistic Modeling, was also among the speakers.

Teymur used the following statements in his speech:

"At the 10th Ayder Forum, there will be as many robots as there are people under this roof. Some of these robots will be on the podium, some will be in the audience, and some will perform various services. We will face a very serious energy bottleneck. If the number of robots in the world equals the number of people and they consume electricity 24/7, the energy demand will reach very high levels.

"A RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT LABORATORY NAMED 'ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FOR ENERGY' SHOULD BE ESTABLISHED UNDER THE MINISTRY OF ENERGY"

"The use of artificial intelligence in energy is not just a software job; it is not a technical project. It is a complete reconstruction of that ecosystem from top to bottom. For this, just software is not enough. My suggestion is to establish a research and development laboratory named 'Artificial Intelligence for Energy' under the Ministry of Energy. From climate change to the lighting in our homes, the entire process should be addressed from A to Z and transformed into an AI-supported form. When we achieve this, we can look to the future with confidence."