"Significant investment in R&D from Turkey."

The Minister of Industry and Technology, Mehmet Fatih Kacır, evaluated the progress Turkey has made in the field of industry and technology over the past 22 years in his speech at the Machinery Manufacturers Association Meeting held in the Çerkezköy Organized Industrial Zone. Minister Kacır, who attended the Machinery Manufacturers Association Meeting in Çerkezköy Organized Industrial Zone in Tekirdağ, stated that while the concept of research and development was hardly known 22 years ago, today Turkey has reached over 270,000 R&D human resources and the number of R&D projects is approaching 11,000. "Today, Turkey is a country that allocates more than 1.3% of its national income to R&D and carries out ambitious projects in 104 technoparks," said Kacır, expressing that the country has gained significant innovation power in the field of R&D.

"NATIONAL INCOME INCREASED FROM 238 BILLION DOLLARS TO 1 TRILLION DOLLARS"

Stating that Turkey's national income has increased from 238 billion dollars to 1 trillion dollars in the last 22 years, Kacır mentioned that Turkey's industrial product exports have reached 262 billion dollars. Noting that the number of organized industrial zones (OIZs) has increased from 191 to 362 and employment in OIZs has risen from 415,000 to 2.7 million, Minister Kacır recorded that total industrial employment has reached 6.7 million.

"WE SUPPORT GREEN AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION"

Minister Kacır stated that Turkey has accelerated its digital and green transformation processes and announced that they have launched two new programs in this context. Expressing that a 30 billion dollar incentive will be offered for these transformations until 2030, Kacır mentioned that they encourage companies to establish Green and Digital Transformation Centers. Kacır said, "We must take faster steps in the areas of green transformation and digital transformation. These programs also encompass a mindset transformation."

A NEW INVESTMENT INCENTIVE SYSTEM IS COMING

Indicating that 10,200 incentive certificates have been issued for an investment of 750 billion lira aimed at industrialists, Kacır stated that a new incentive system prepared to support high-tech moves in the industry will be announced to the public soon. Kacır said, "We will continue to offer priority incentives to our industrialists in areas such as digital transformation and green transformation."

REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND LOCAL SUPPORT

Minister Kacır stated that they have developed policies to accelerate development in cities that were neglected before the 2000s in Turkey. "We will create local development programs by considering the strengths of each of our cities. We will impose more responsibilities on large companies benefiting from incentives in areas such as R&D and qualified human resource development," he indicated, pointing to new strategies for local development. The program was attended by Tekirdağ Governor Recep Soytürk, AK Party Tekirdağ MPs Mestan Özcan, Gökhan Diktaş, Çiğdem Koncagül, chamber presidents, OIZ officials, and industrialists.