President Erdoğan: We must stand on our own feet in all areas from data production to data security, from defense, health and IT to AI

 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the METU Technopolis IT Innovation Center.

“We live in a geography that has been a host to the oldest educational institutions in the history of humanity. Every corner of our country, from Harran to Nusaybin, from Cizre to Hatay, from İzmir to Bursa, from Erzurum to Istanbul, is filled with traces of ancient educational institutions,” President Erdoğan said.

Stating that new criteria have been added to the symbols of sovereignty such as territory, flag and national currency, President Erdoğan noted that technological independence ranks first among these criteria, and said: “We must stand on our own feet in all areas from data production to data security, from defense, health and information technologies to artificial intelligence. If we cannot, others will be in control. We cannot maintain our independence without having a solid grasp of technology just as we cannot be independent without ruling over our lands.”

Highlighted the importance of technological independence, President Erdoğan said: “We cannot achieve our goals without becoming a country which designs, develops and produces technology as opposed to being a mere consumer. If the technology advances too fast, we need to move faster than it and work harder.”