13.06.2026 16:30
Speaking at the Turkey Artificial Intelligence Summit, President Erdoğan stated, 'We will carry Turkey to the forefront among the pioneering countries of the AI era.' Noting that AI literacy workshops will be launched in 81 provinces, Erdoğan said, 'We will provide training to 5 million citizens in two years. We will train 10 thousand advanced AI experts and 100 thousand AI application professionals.'
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke at the Turkey Artificial Intelligence Summit held at Tersane Istanbul.
Erdoğan, who made statements regarding Turkey's Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, said, "We will launch a national artificial intelligence literacy program to ensure that our citizens of all ages correctly understand and safely use artificial intelligence. Through artificial intelligence literacy workshops that we will implement in all 81 provinces, we will train 5 million of our citizens in 2 years. We will train 10 thousand advanced artificial intelligence experts and 100 thousand artificial intelligence application professionals."
Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements:
"I hope that the Turkey Artificial Intelligence Summit will bring blessings to our country, our nation, and our sectors. I congratulate our Ministry of Industry and Technology for their efforts in organizing the summit and everyone who contributed to the program. I hope that the panels and events held within the scope of the summit and the evaluations made here will be eye-opening for all of us.
A ROADMAP COVERING 4 YEARS
Shortly, we will share with you and our nation our Turkey Artificial Intelligence Action Plan, which covers the period 2026-2030 and is a critical roadmap in this field. I wish our new action plan, which will elevate Turkey to the class of leading countries in artificial intelligence technologies, to be auspicious and beneficial.
We are passing through historic days when the world and humanity are entering a new era. The change in this period is extremely rapid compared to the past and, as the ancients would say, progresses swiftly. The effects of change permeate almost every field, from diplomacy to trade, energy to transportation, and agriculture to security. As a new order is being established, the old order is experiencing a serious upheaval. While some see this process as a historic opportunity, others evaluate this transformation as a crisis that needs to be overcome.
On the other hand, in this era called the post-truth era, we witness that artificial intelligence and new digital technologies transform perceptions along with facts and become the fundamental dynamic of the new reality. It is a fact that access to information has become easier than ever today. Information disorders such as disinformation have become equally widespread. Data can now be accessed within seconds.
"POLITICAL, MILITARY, AND ECONOMIC POWER CANNOT BE CONSIDERED INDEPENDENTLY OF DIGITAL SOVEREIGNTY"
We can easily manage processes such as data processing and data analysis. However, we frequently see in wars and conflicts occurring around us the deadly consequences that even the slightest vulnerability in data security and cybersecurity can lead to. We all now know very well that political, military, and economic power cannot be considered independently of digital sovereignty, and that digital capacity is a deterrent force multiplier.
I would like to state with great satisfaction today that Turkey is one of the rare countries that recognized this transformation in technology at the earliest stage and shaped its measures, policies, and practices accordingly. Just now, we all watched. Our great mathematician, Ordinaryus Professor Cahit Arf, asked this question in a conference he gave in Erzurum exactly 67 years ago: 'Can a machine think, and how can it think?' While seeking the answer to this question in the same conference, Cahit Arf told the audience: 'The task of understanding events or arrangements can be compared to climbing a ladder. Climbing one step is an easy task. But climbing a thousand steps requires a lot of sweat.'
"WE NOW PRODUCE THE TECHNOLOGIES WE WERE PREVIOUSLY DEPENDENT ON ABROAD OURSELVES"
As a nation that has made very significant contributions to science and technology for centuries, we continue to climb those steps one by one today. Our universities, research centers, and science and technology hubs are undertaking groundbreaking and remarkable work worldwide. Our young engineers, software developers, and technicians are achieving brand-new successes in every field requiring high technology. We now produce the technologies we were previously dependent on abroad ourselves. We shape all stages from R&D to mass production with our own resources. Most importantly, the Teknofest generation, which will crown our National Technology Move as the cornerstone of the Turkish Century, continues to embroider today and the future with their determination, skill, and projects. On this occasion, I thank all our institutions, companies, and non-governmental organizations that have a share in this success story we have written in technology, and I wish success to each of my young brothers and sisters in their work.
As Turkey, we are making intense efforts to reflect our experience and capabilities in the defense industry to other fields, especially artificial intelligence. As you know, on March 31, we put into service our next-generation mobile communication infrastructure 5G, which will further reinforce our digital independence. We established our Cybersecurity Presidency to increase our country's resilience against cyber threats. With Türksat 6A, our first domestic and national satellite launched into space in 2024, we made Turkey one of the 11 countries in the world capable of producing its own satellite.
In the last 23 years, we have built a large innovation infrastructure that very few countries possess. Through Teknofests, Deneyap workshops, science festivals, and science fairs, we have included millions of our young people in the technology journey every year. Today, in over 1,700 research-development and design centers across Turkey, our researchers, engineers, and technicians are developing future projects. 114 technoparks and over 13,000 technology firms are turning innovative ideas into products.
I must also express this here. Dear friends, the gains we have achieved in technology are only the visible part of the iceberg. We are determined to build a great and strong Turkey in the Turkish Century also in the digital field by leveraging the opportunities offered by artificial intelligence.
The questions we all face today are these: Will artificial intelligence serve humans or control humans? How will technology companies use this asymmetric power they have obtained? How will the feudalization of these rapidly growing companies be prevented? How will the manipulation of individuals and societies through personal data be prevented? The answers to these questions will be of vital importance.
ACTION PLAN BUILT ON 4 MAIN AXES
Our Artificial Intelligence Action Plan is the product of these sensitivities. Our action plan was built on 4 main axes—recognize, benefit, produce, and manage—and 4 complementary actions in each axis."
"WE WILL LAUNCH THE NATIONAL ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LITERACY PROGRAM"
In line with our 'notice' goals, the first axis of our plan, we will convey the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence to our nation and increase awareness and basic competencies in this regard across all segments of society. We will launch the national artificial intelligence literacy program to ensure that people of all ages understand AI correctly and use it safely. Through AI literacy workshops we will implement in all 81 provinces, we will train 5 million citizens in two years. We will train 10 thousand advanced AI experts and 100 thousand AI application professionals.
By facilitating access to data, we will accelerate the process of turning data into value for our researchers, entrepreneurs, and public institutions. We will make at least 2000 public data sets available to our nation through the national data library, particularly in health, agriculture, defense, and e-commerce. We will establish a regulatory framework that protects users' rights and provides predictability for investors. With this framework based on a proportionate risk approach, we will pave the way for innovation while ensuring the privacy and security of our citizens.
"WE WILL TRANSFORM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE INTO TANGIBLE BENEFIT"
Within the scope of our second axis, 'benefit from', we will turn artificial intelligence into tangible benefit in various areas of life, from public to industry, from education to health, from agriculture to security. We will implement legal regulations that ensure our data centers comply with international standards and energy efficiency. By 2030, we will increase our country's installed data center capacity to at least 1 gigawatt. We will treat e-government as a transformation area where our citizens can directly experience AI-supported public services.
AT LEAST 2 PERCENT SHARE FOR AI PROJECTS IN PUBLIC INVESTMENTS
We will allocate at least 2 percent of our public investment programs to artificial intelligence projects. Our public sector will be the first buyer and strongest reference for successful and domestic AI solutions. We will provide accessible technology to our SMEs, which will turn ideas into field-tested products in priority areas such as health, energy, and smart manufacturing, through AI coupons.
"WE WILL ESTABLISH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE GROWTH REGIONS"
With our 'produce' goals, the third axis of our plan, we will develop our own models that will enable our citizens to generate value with AI. We will establish AI growth regions offering campuses with ready energy and infrastructure for our investors, and rapid prototyping opportunities for our SMEs and researchers.
We will support our research through the National Artificial Intelligence Research Fund and the realization and scaling of our initiatives through the AI Growth Fund. We will resolutely continue our Turkish Large Language Model studies to strengthen our digital sovereignty. TÜBİTAK's domestic language model 'Bilge', currently under development, is a significant indicator of the progress we have made. Similarly, the large language model developed in collaboration with our T3 Foundation and Baykar, and HAVELSAN's 9-billion-parameter large language model on the 'MAIN' platform, are important works that center the full richness of Turkish.
On the other hand, data-driven studies by Turkcell and our other mobile communication companies are valuable steps for our country. We will deepen our robotic technology capabilities to expand the use of artificial intelligence in our manufacturing industry and value-added products.
"WE WILL MOBILIZE AT LEAST 10 BILLION DOLLARS OF PRIVATE SECTOR-FOCUSED RESOURCES"
Within the framework of our 'govern' goals, we will secure and strengthen our sovereign AI capacity. Accordingly, we will mobilize at least 10 billion dollars of private sector-focused resources for data center, cloud, and AI infrastructure. By offering international entrepreneurs a roadmap through a single window in at most 30 business days, we will provide a predictable, fast, and coordinated investment environment. We will position Istanbul as Turkey's international showcase and investment diplomacy city in the field of artificial intelligence. We will use Terminal Istanbul as a meeting ground for our entrepreneurs and global investors.
We will play an active role in determining human-centered AI standards within the OECD, G20, United Nations, and other platforms. In collaboration with the Organization of Turkic States, we will gradually develop a common Turkic Languages Large Language Model covering Oghuz, Kipchak, and Karluk languages. We will establish regulatory sandboxes in at least five priority sectors to enable testing of innovative AI solutions in a controlled environment.
The implementation of our plan will be achieved through the joint contributions of our public institutions, private sector, universities, and research centers. The National Artificial Intelligence Board will constitute the governance foundation of this process. Our Ministry of Industry and Technology will regularly monitor the implementation of actions in close cooperation with all relevant institutions.
"WE WILL ELEVATE TURKEY AMONG THE LEADING COUNTRIES OF THE AI ERA"
We expect the added value generated by the resources mobilized through the Turkey Artificial Intelligence Action Plan to exceed 1 trillion lira. We will, God willing, together elevate Turkey among the leading countries of the AI era. We will make the Turkish Century also the century of digital production.
With these thoughts, I sincerely thank everyone who contributed to the preparation of our Turkey Artificial Intelligence Action Plan. I wish that our plan brings goodness to our country, our nation, our sectors, and humanity. I greet you once again with respect and affection, and entrust you to Allah. Stay well, stay strong, stay healthy. "