Speaking at the Innova-League Awards Ceremony in Istanbul, President Erdoğan said: “Despite all the difficulties and problems experienced on a global scale, our exports still maintain their upward trend. Recently, we broke another new record in October. Our exports in October increased by 7.4 percent year-over-year, reaching $22.9 billion. Thus, we had the joy of reaching the highest October export volume. As of October, our 12-month rolling exports reached $254.8 billion.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the Innova-League Awards Ceremony at Haliç Congress Center.
Expressing his pride in all the companies that contribute to Türkiye’s production, employment and exports, especially the Innova-League Champions, President Erdoğan stated that the regular increase in the number of companies applying to the Innovation Development Program every year shows that the culture of innovation has started to take root in the business world.
Stating that Innova-League, which started with 460 applications in 2014, has reached 2003 companies from 64 different cities this year, President Erdoğan said: “We have awarded 89 different companies so far. The total exports of our award-winning companies last year approached $19 billion. I believe that this figure will increase even more.”
Noting that they will continue to provide the necessary support to the Türkiye Innovation Week events and the Innova-League project, which they have supported since day one, President Erdoğan said: “I have always said it, and I would like to emphasize it once again today. As long as you work, produce, generate jobs, as long as you deliver the products of this country across the world, as long as you continue to trust and believe in Türkiye's potential, inshallah, we will never leave you alone.”
“OUR EXPORTS MAINTAIN THEIR UPWARD TREND”
Voicing his pleasure in seeing exporters making the best of the incentives, President Erdoğan said: “When we came to power, our country’s export volume was $36.1 billion. Last year, our export volume was $254.2 billion. With this rate of increase, Türkiye became the third country to increase its exports the fastest among OECD countries. Despite all the difficulties and problems experienced on a global scale, our exports still maintain their upward trend. Recently, we broke another new record in October. Our exports in October increased by 7.4 percent year-over-year, reaching $22.9 billion. Thus, we had the joy of reaching the highest October export volume. As of October, our 12-month rolling exports reached $254.8 billion. Moreover, the annual current account balance improved by $7.3 billion in the last two months.”
“WE NEED TO FOCUS ON EXPORTING HIGH VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS
Underscoring that these developments were only the beginning and much more would be accomplished, President Erdoğan said: “We will definitely achieve the export goals we set in the Medium Term Program and the 12th Development Plan. At this point, I would like to draw your attention to one point in particular. The increase in exports in terms of quantity is undoubtedly important and valuable. However, what we, as Türkiye, need to focus on from now on is the increase in the quality of exports. Along with the quantitative increase, we need to go beyond and focus on exports of high value-added products. In fact, we have made significant progress here in the past 21 years. The share of medium-high and high-tech product exports in manufacturing, which was 37 percent in 2022, rose to 40.3 percent in the first 10 months of this year. I find it extremely valuable that the upward trend continues. However, export value per kilogram, which hovers around 1.2 or 1.3 dollars on average, frankly, do not befit the Turkish economy.”
“WE ATTACH GREAT IMPORTANCE TO INNOVATION”
Pointing to the need to diversify and develop the range not only with products that are high in weight but also in cost, President Erdoğan said that the way to achieve this was to increase the share of high-tech products in exports.
“Although we do not yet consider ourselves sufficient in some areas, surely, none of these achievements in exports is a coincidence,” President Erdoğan said. “Every step we have taken since 2002 has been in line with a plan and vision. As a government, we have attached great importance to the issue of innovation from day one. Because we knew that without innovation, without developing new, original, groundbreaking products, no matter what we did, no matter what support we provided, we would not be able to fully achieve our goals.”
“In this understanding, we established a strong innovation ecosystem in our country by expanding technoparks, supporting university-industry cooperation, encouraging R&D studies, scientific activities and young entrepreneurs,” President Erdoğan said. “We increased the number of Research and Development centers from zero to 1,298. We increased the number of design centers from zero to 326. By increasing the number of technoparks from 2 to 100, we have shown that our ambitions in the field of innovation are not groundless. We have mobilized all our means to raise the TEKNOFEST youth, who are the architects and bearers of innovation. Now, our qualified, successful and well-equipped young people see their future not abroad, but in this land and pursue it in Türkiye.”
“As the number of our companies operating on a global scale increases, Türkiye is attracting qualified human resources from many parts of the world. We witness the diversity of personnel in many companies we visit. As we see scientists, researchers and well-educated engineers from our kindred geography, we are pleased for the innovation ecosystem of our country,” President Erdoğan said.
Noting that this is not a new situation, neither for Türkiye nor for the developed countries, President Erdoğan said: “Progress in science, culture, art, trade, education, in short, in all areas of life, is only possible through social wealth and diversity. Throughout history, the most popular cities of Islamic civilization, from Istanbul to Baghdad, Cairo to Damascus, Bukhara to Qurtuba, have always developed and flourished in this way. The centers of science in the West have thrived by attracting people of science and art from around the world as well as their own residents. The world's most successful universities, the most successful R&D centers, production and research centers, and international companies with global networks are fed by other sources besides local human resources.”
Pointing to Silicon Valley as the epitome of this fact, President Erdoğan said: “In Silicon Valley, successful researchers, entrepreneurs and scientists from hundreds of countries around the world work alongside Americans. We can't even imagine how many different nationals have contributed to the phones we use. The same is true for almost everything, from cars to computers, from the apps on our phones to the watches on our wrists.”
“WE WILL CONTINUE TO EMBRACE EVERYONE WHO INVESTS IN TÜRKİYE, PROVIDES EMPLOYMENT, AND CREATES ADDED VALUE”
“Our companies, universities and research centers should never be afraid to open up and internationalize,” President Erdoğan underscored. “We certainly do not find rhetoric that aims to make Türkiye withdraw into itself and confine it within its borders to be well-intentioned. Lumpen fascism, which has recently been fueled by fifth columnists, is one of the biggest obstacles on the road to a great and powerful Türkiye. Because fascism is the enemy not only of human beings and human qualities, but also of science, art, innovation, original and free thought.”
Underlining that they will not allow this sick mentality, which sees everyone else as an enemy, to corrupt Türkiye’s society and especially to poison our youth, President Erdoğan said: “We will continue to embrace everyone who invests in our country, provides employment, and creates added value for the development and strengthening of the Turkish economy and bringing it to the level it deserves.”
“We are a nation whose greatest source of inspiration and strength is its unity, solidarity and brotherhood. We have no other option but to work harder to reach our destination in the honorable journey we embarked on with the goal of the Century of Türkiye,” President Erdoğan said.
“As we rapidly recover from the earthquake disaster on February 6, we will never lose sight of our goals. We as a nation will not turn our backs on oppressed and victimized geographies. Just as we take care of our kin in the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Turkic world, we will be equally concerned about our brothers and sisters in Gaza who have been dying under the brutal attacks of Israel since October 7,” President Erdoğan said.
“Praise be to Allah, we have never consented to oppression in any period of our history. We have never been involved in genocide and exploitation like those who remain silent about Israel's atrocities today. We have never had any baggage that would make our people hang their head in shame, hesitate, that would be brought before us by others. We do not owe any of them. On the contrary, we are owed. We have always stood tall in honor,” President Erdoğan said.
