Turkey’s future is in technology, innovation: Erdogan

By Murat Paksoy, Cigdem Munibe Alyanak, Berk Ozkan

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday said his country’s future lies in technological advancement and innovation.

Erdogan was speaking at the opening ceremony of the second stage of Teknopark in Istanbul.

“Once completed, Teknopark Istanbul will become a place that will host more than 1,000 research and development companies in a closed area of 1.5 million square meters,” he said.

Tenkopark Istanbul, established in 1987, aims to support research and development activities, innovation and technological production and to create an ecosystem by triggering entrepreneurship and national economy.

Erdogan also spoke about the International Fellowship for Outstanding Researchers Program launched last year. He said that the demand for the program is at the “promising level”.

The program was launched to support qualified researchers with leading scientific and technological achievements and to conduct their researches in Turkey’s leading academic, industrial or public institutions.

Erdogan emphasized that senior Turkish researchers, who work at world’s top universities and research centers, now choose Turkey to conduct their researches.

He said that centers like Teknopark Istanbul play an important to prevent brain drain.

*Writing by Burak Dag