President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan praised Turkish youth's interest in technology, research and development and science as he attended Teknofest, while the country's technology minister hailed the tech festival for boosting Türkiye's image.
"The scene we witnessed at Teknofest shows we have made a fruitful investment," Erdoğan said, adding that in today's era, the value of a person is assessed by their skills and productivity.
"We are making our youth competitive with national technology events such as Teknofest," he said, noting that the Turkish youth can now send missiles into space.
Türkiye now has drones and fighter jets, and the dark times have been left behind, the Turkish leader said, adding that this year's Teknofest was planned in three cities to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye.
The event was held in Istanbul in May, welcoming 2.5 million visitors, which is a world record and will be organized in the Aegean city of Izmir from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1.
Teknofest kicked off in Ankara on Wednesday and will run through Sunday, showcasing a broad range of high-end technological innovations. It features exhibitions, workshops, airshows, competitions and seminars.
The event has been organized by the T3 Foundation and the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry jointly since 2018, in cooperation with dozens of ministries, public institutions, private firms and universities.
On Friday, Türkiye's industry and technology minister emphasized the unique impact of Teknofest, a major technology and aerospace event, on the country's image.
Mehmet Fatih Kacır said that while there are more populous countries like India and China and nations more advanced in technology, rocket science and space technologies than Türkiye, none of them host such an event.
"Hundreds of thousands of young people do not develop projects in these areas, nor do they establish a technology startup. The fact that we are pioneering such a unique endeavor in the world significantly enhances Türkiye's global image," Kacır told Anadolu Agency (AA) during his visit to the agency's stand at the event.
The minister said Teknofest organizers are currently in discussions with several countries to host another international edition of the event abroad.
Last year, the first international edition of the event was held in Azerbaijan.
"We definitely want to organize an event in KKTC. It is very important for us," said the minister, using the Turkish initials of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
He also said Teknofest will be organized in an Anatolian city in 2024, not Istanbul.
The minister added the Anatolian city, which will host the event next year, will be announced in Izmir.
