President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said: “Our companies have distinguished themselves with their quality products, competitive prices and, above all, their reliability during the pandemic period. International companies have been in search to create alternatives to the Asia-based production network. During these searches, Turkey has become one of the most popular countries with its industry, production capacity, competitive prices, qualified workforce, geographic location, strong health and transport infrastructure.”
President Erdoğan has sent a video message to the 8th Turkey Innovation Week program.
President Erdoğan began his speech by greeting the participants and said: “I pray to my Lord that the activities of Turkey Innovation Week to be auspicious for our country, our nation and our business world.”
Congratulating the winners, organizations and companies that won the InovaLIG awards, President Erdoğan wished their success to continue.
Noting, “Our ancestor says 'Merit is subject to compliments, unappreciated labour is lost.' As the success in life, it is also important to appreciate and reward this success,” President Erdoğan continued as follows:
“We know that every rewarded success herald more qualified, more unique work. As the President of Turkey, I attach great importance to the promotion of innovative, qualified and landmark projects in their own fields. I welcome with appreciation the initiatives of the Turkish Exporters Assembly, which provides added value to the economy such as Innovation Week and InovaLIG. Thank God; the interest in such activities in our country is also increasing. I regard the application of 1,236 companies to InovaLIG, which was attended by 460 companies in the first year, as a sign of the success achieved. I believe that with this project, which brings together thousands of innovative ideas in different areas, there has been an excessive intellectual capital inflow to our country.”
On this occasion, I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who enriches the Eighth Turkey Innovation Week with their proposals and experience. I also wholeheartedly congratulate the administration and members of the Turkish Exporters Assembly since they safeguard the innovation issue which has critical significance for our future and economy. We will continue to support every effort that will ensure the technological transformation of our country and increase its export capacity.”
“Covid-19 pandemic has dragged the whole world into new uncertainties”
Emphasizing that as humanity, a difficult and different period was being experienced in every aspect due to the coronavirus pandemic, President Erdoğan indicated that the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, beyond being a health crisis, negatively affected all areas of life, from economy to human affairs and security.
President Erdoğan added: “While the wounds of the 2008 crisis in the global economy are still not healed, the Covid-19 pandemic has dragged the whole world into new uncertainties. This pandemic which even the economically sound countries were caught unprepared, especially aggravated the burden of underdeveloped and developing countries. We also witness that with this pandemic, protectionism is spreading, customs walls are rising again and the tendencies for being introverted are becoming stronger.”
“We entered a different period in which design and innovation come to the fore together with production”
Stating, “Instead of acting together and fighting together against this calamity, every country is trying to escape to its own shelter,” President Erdoğan noted the following:
“This pandemic, which has caused the death of 1 million 750 thousand people so far, has brought to light many distortions that have been covered throughout the world. On the other hand, when we look at history, we see that such major events have led to radical changes from economy to politics. It is certain that after the coronavirus pandemic, which is the most serious health crisis that humanity has faced since the Second World War, there will be significant changes. As a matter of fact, we have already started to see the signs of this in our business life. In the opening-up of companies to the world, we have entered a different period in which design and innovation come to the fore together with production. The dominant colour of this period, during which it is not sufficient to produce and sell those produced, is innovation and research and development. Companies that attach importance to R&D, try to catch innovation, design and realize landmark projects have already been the winners of the process. Many companies, which reached a limited number of people until last year, have doubled their turnover with the Covid-19 pandemic, increased their market value, and succeeded in expanding from local to international. A similar situation also applies to Turkey and the Turkish economy. Even though the pandemic brought some difficulties for all of us, it opened new windows of opportunity in front of our business world.”
“Our companies come to the fore with their reliability in the pandemic period”
President Erdoğan said: “Our companies came to the fore with their quality products, competitive prices, and, above all, with their reliability during the pandemic period. International companies have been in search to create alternatives to the Asia-based production network. Turkey has become one of the most popular countries with its industry, production capacity, competitive prices, qualified workforce, geographic location and strong health and transportation infrastructure.”
Touching upon the fact that the particularly export-based countries expanded their customer and product ranges, President Erdoğan said: “With the permission of Allah, the impetus achieved by our country will increase as the effects of the pandemic around the world will decrease and everything clicks into its place. Turkey will come out stronger in all aspects from exports to manufacturing, and tourism to the defence industry.”
Drawing attention to the fact that the infrastructure established in the last 18 years had a great role in Turkey's assertive rise in the pandemic period, President Erdoğan continued as follows:
“We personally saw in the Covid-19 period how accurate and timely our preparations were. All the points, from health to transportation and from agriculture to tourism, the opposition has been using to criticize us for 18 years have turned out to be unfounded altogether in just eight months.
This period has also shown clearly the strength of our country, the visionary character of our government, as well as the lack of vision of the opposition. Turkey's greatest misfortune is the shallow understanding of opposition that takes politics as an opportunity for existence and rent. We leave this understanding, which uses every opportunity it gets to defame Turkey, frighten foreign investors, and discredit the Turkish economy, up to our nation's discretion.”
“We have become the fastest-growing country in the world"
Stating that they would continue to work with the principle “Serving the nation means serving Allah” in line with the 2023 goals and the vision for 2053 and 2071, President Erdoğan continued his remarks as follows:
“In this regard, our economy, which shrank in the second quarter of the year due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, grew by 6.7% in the third quarter with a strong recovery. With this rate, we have become the fastest-growing country in the world. In the same vein, we also took a good start for the final quarter of the year. In October, industrial production increased by 10.2% and the manufacturing industry by 11%. The manufacturing industry capacity utilization rate had risen to 75.4% in October and to 75.8% in November. The annual increase in the turnover index by the total of the industry, construction, trade and service sectors reached 31% in October. Our export was realized at the 16-17 billion dollars band in October and November.
All these developments point that we will close the year 2020 with a positive growth rate in line with our projections. Our export potential, together with our production, investment and employment goals, has also an important role in achieving our goals. We achieve export revenue of 152 billion dollars between January and November, despite the pandemic conditions. I congratulate all our institutions, exporters and enterprises who have played a part in making this success come true.”
“Our goal should not be just to increase our exports”
Stating that in the new period ahead, we needed to raise our exports to higher levels, too, in line with new goals, President Erdoğan said, "Our goal should not be just to increase our export. We need to go beyond that and aim for exporting value-added products. An export worth of 1,2 or 1,3 dollar per kilogram is not really good for us when we have a young population and a good accumulation of knowledge and experience. Although our export per kilogram compared to 2001 has doubled, this figure is never enough for us. First, we need to exceed the threshold of 2 dollars and move towards that of 3 dollars. The success of our defence industry, which realized an export figure of 62 dollars per kilogram, is a good example for all concerned."
Noting that he expected exporters to make the best use of the government incentives and spread the success in the defence industry into other domains through innovation and branding, President Erdoğan concluded as follows:
“I wish that our companies, who have earned the appreciation of our nation with their quality but are not able to introduce their products into global markets, may soon break out of their shells and join the family of exporters. I call on every member of the Turkish Exporters Assembly to join ‘Our exporting journey’. I, in my person and on behalf of my nation, extend my gratitude to everybody who contributes to our cause of 'Great and Strong Turkey' with their investments, productions, employment, exports, and R&D activities so far. I wish once again the 8th Turkey Innovation Week may be auspicious. I express my congratulations, once again, to our companies who were granted awards, and greet you with love and respect.”