Turkey will announce its National Space Program in 2020, the country’s Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said Tuesday.

Speaking to Parliament's Planning and Budget Committee, Varank said: "Countries that do not make it to space will not have a say on Earth in the future."

Last December, a presidential decree announced the establishment of the country's space agency.

The minister added that Turkey will establish a Polar Research Institute under the supervision of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK).

He went on to say that Turkey's Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) will unveil a moving prototype of the first domestic vehicle, an electric SUV, in the C segment in December.

In November 2017, Turkey ventured into a groundbreaking initiative to manufacture an indigenous automobile. The project has brought together the country's largest manufacturers and companies in a consortium that includes Anadolu Group, BMC, Kök Group, Turkcell and Zorlu Holding, all experienced in their own areas of operation.

TOGG aims to begin mass production in 2021 and launch the domestic automobile in the first half of 2022. The first vehicle to be released will be the fully electric C-SUV. Plans state that up to five models will be in production by 2030. In the meantime, three existing models produced by the group will undergo a revamp.

Speaking on progress in the defense sector, Varank said: "Our defense firms received domestic and international orders of nearly TL 7 billion in the last five years."