Thousands of Turkish Cypriots attend Türkiye's premier tech event TEKNOFEST in Lefkosa

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye's premiere technology, aviation and space event TEKNOFEST's latest edition in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) is attracting thousands of people in Lefkosa, hosting around 62,000 visitors on the first day of the four-day event.

The festival, starting on Thursday, is taking place at the old Ercan Airport in Lefkosa, the capital of TRNC, under the auspices of that nation’s presidency.

The event features a packed schedule with competitions, air shows, exhibitions and workshops.

On Friday, besides important air shows and display of high-tech innovations, the event hosted an exhibition related to 5G technology.

In the 5G test conducted by a Turkish GSM operator Turkcell, a new generation autonomous sea vessel was remotely controlled via 5G connection.

Turkcell conducted a 5G test on an unmanned marine vehicle for the first time.

Speaking after the successful test, Turkcell General Manager Ali Taha Koc said the company continues to lead the way in innovative connectivity technologies.

Organized by the Turkish Technology Team (T3) Foundation and Türkiye’s Industry and Technology Ministry, TEKNOFEST has been held annually since 2018 with the support of dozens of government bodies, private sector partners, and universities.

Anadolu continues to serve as the festival's global communications partner.

While the event is traditionally held in various Turkish cities in even-numbered years and in Istanbul in odd-numbered years, the TRNC has become the second international host after Azerbaijan, which welcomed TEKNOFEST in 2022.

In 2024, the event in the southern Turkish city of Adana attracted approximately 1.1 million visitors.