President Erdoğan: Our UCAVs represent our country with pride in over 30 countries

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the TEKNOFEST 2022 in Samsun.

Congratulating the T3 Foundation and its supporting institutions for building such a brand, which made Türkiye proud, President Erdoğan said: “The greatest aviation, space and technology festival, the fifth of which is held here today, has now extended beyond our borders.”

“THE TEKNOFEST GENERATION IS TÜRKİYE’S REALITY”

“The TEKNOFEST has become a festival, where 154 thousand teams with 600 thousand members from 81 provinces in Türkiye and also from 107 countries compete in 40 different branches,” President Erdoğan noted, and added: “It is truly a mental revolution that a technology event is embraced to such an extent, especially by the youth.”

“The TEKNOFEST generation is Türkiye’s reality as well as necessity,” President Erdoğan underscored. “When we embarked upon our journey to develop our own technology, design and produce our own defense industry products, we believed in our youth,” President Erdoğan recalled, and further stated: “We trusted our people, we relied on our people, we paved the way and gave opportunities to our people, and now we have come to a point where the entire world follows us with admiration.”

“Today, our UCAVs represent our country with pride in over 30 countries in the world. We now produce almost all the equipment and munition integrated with these vehicles,” President Erdoğan said.

Noting that the Kızılelma UCAV is regarded to be a game-changer in the world history of warfare, President Erdoğan said: “Anywhere in the world, defense industry leads the technological development. The products developed with this purpose are soon extended to other parts of life.”

“OUR DEFENSE INDUSTRY IS NOT 80 PERCENT INDIGENOUS AND NATIONAL”

Noting that 20 percent of the defense industry in Türkiye was indigenous and national when the administration came into power, President Erdoğan said: “Today, our defense industry is not 80 percent indigenous and national. We have realized our goals for 2023. Dear youth, inshallah you will further advance Türkiye in line with our visions for 2053 and 2071.”

“WE HAVE TO BE POWERFUL IN ALL RESPECTS”

Stressing the need to build a climate of technology in Türkiye where young people from other countries look forward to moving to our country, President Erdoğan said: “Surely, we should first keep the peace, stability, security, development and democracy in our country very strong. Unfortunately, crises, conflicts, destruction and poverty rages over various places across the world, our region in particular. We can list many places across our region, whether they be to our north, to our south, to our east or to our west, where these painful events take place. With the power it derives from its history, unity, solidarity and brotherhood, Türkiye stands out from this circle of fire as a symbol of stability and peace. I am proud of my nation. Our country does not have the chance to be weak or to remain weak in such a geography, on such a historical heritage, around such a state tradition. We have to be powerful in all respects, whether it be political, economic, technologic, diplomatic, military, social, or cultural. Otherwise, I assure you that they will make us worse than Syria, Ukraine or Bosnia.”

“With this aim, we are working to swiftly make up for our shortcomings in all areas from education to healthcare, from transportation to energy, from industry to agriculture. We work to strengthen the political infrastructure, social and institutional structure through democratic reforms,” President Erdoğan said.

“WHEN THE TIME COMES, WE WILL DO WHAT IS NECESSARY”

Highlighting the difficulties Türkiye experienced in its endeavor for development, President Erdoğan said: “Most recently, the despicable acts, committed by the treacherous network of the FETO, were exposed, which alone proves Türkiye has achieved its progress despite all the hardship it has been through. Was not it the FETO who called hijab ‘just a detail’? Where is he now? In Pennsylvania. Who is feeding him? The US. We must know who our friend is and who is against us very well. Right now, the US is sending weapons to Dedeağaç, Greece, right? They are sending planes, right? And Greece is attempting to threaten us with S-300s. Greece, look back at the history. If you go too far, the price will be heavy. We have one thing to say to Greece: Remember İzmir.”

Noting that Türkiye is now recognized with its accomplishments that even surpassed the most developed countries in the world, President Erdoğan said: “Your occupation in the islands does not concern us. When the time comes, we will do what is necessary. As we say, all of a sudden, we can come overnight. I assure you that those, who hindered Türkiye’s progress by putting shackles on our country in the past, are waiting for another opportunity.”

“We will not allow them,” President Erdoğan underscored. “Our struggle will be hard. It will require sacrifice. However, the peace, happiness and prosperity, which our success will bring about in the end, is indescribable.”