Minister Kacır: We increased Türkiye's annual R&D expenditure from $1.2 billion to $16 billion

Speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the TURKPATENT ISIF 2025 10th International Invention Fair held at the festival, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır said, "We increased Türkiye's R&D human resources from 29,000 to over 291. We increased the number of Technoparks in Türkiye from 2 to 113. We increased the number of innovation-focused companies and enterprises operating in Technoparks from 56 to 11,500. We increased the share we allocate to research and development from 0.5 per thousand to 1.4 percent of our national income. We increased Türkiye's annual R&D expenditures from 1.2 billion dollars to 16 billion dollars."

TEKNOFEST, the world's largest aviation, space, and technology festival, opened its doors in Istanbul today for the 13th time. The festival, which kicked off at Istanbul Atatürk Airport, will host visitors until September 21st.

The opening ceremony of the TURKPATENT ISIF 2025 10th International Invention Fair was held at the festival. Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır also attended the ceremony.

"WE ARE HAPPY TO ORGANIZE THE 10TH INTERNATIONAL INVENTION FAIR"

Speaking at the event, Turkish Patent and Trademark Office (TÜRKPATENTS) President Prof. Dr. Muhammed Zeki Durak said, "We are delighted to be organizing the 10th International Invention Fair here today. It's a thrill for us to be holding the 10th one this year. This was the largest inventor crowd we've ever seen. In this event, 79 foreigners from 22 countries gathered in a 9-square-meter area. A total of 470 inventions, 391 of which were domestic, were exhibited."

'TECHNOFESTS HAVE A VERY UNIQUE PLACE IN Türkiye'S NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE'

Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated, "Teknofests truly hold a unique place in Türkiye's journey towards national technology. The Teknofest generation of Turkish youth has a privileged role in Türkiye's journey towards full independence, and towards becoming a country that develops and produces critical technologies with its own resources and can competitively offer them to the world. We always strive to pave the way for our youth and you, our inventors, on all platforms and to accelerate Türkiye's R&D innovation journey. The International Invention Fair, this major event we are organizing for the 10th time this year, is a part of these efforts. Hosted by the Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, we are bringing together 470 inventors from 23 countries with our guests and are happy to reward some of them with the competition we will organize. I hope that all our guests and participants will have a very enjoyable time here. And I also hope that the inventions will not remain only in files. With the events to be organized here, especially with the Demo Day, which we will be holding for the first time this year, we will meet with the industry and manufacturers and share economic opportunities." "They will turn into value, into economic value," he said.

"We devoted a lot of resources to intellectual property. We made a lot of investments."

Minister Kacır said, "We have strived to strengthen both the research and development innovation infrastructure and Türkiye's intellectual property capacity in Türkiye over the last 23 years. Under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, we have built a giant research, development, and innovation ecosystem. We have increased Türkiye's R&D Human Resources from 29,000 to over 291. We have increased the number of Technoparks in Türkiye from 2 to 113. We have increased the number of innovation-focused companies and enterprises operating in Technoparks from 56 to 11,500. We have increased the share we allocate to research and development from 0.5 per thousand to 1.4 percent of our national income. We have increased Türkiye's annual R&D expenditure from 1.2 billion dollars to 16 billion dollars. Today, Turkey has reached parity with European countries such as Italy and Spain in terms of the share it can allocate to research and development from its national income. But we still have a long way to go. During this period, we have allocated a lot of resources to intellectual property. We have made a lot of investments. We have increased Türkiye's intellectual property pool, We increased the number of registered intellectual properties from 93,000 to 2 million. We increased the number of patent applications filed in Türkiye annually from just 414 to over 10,000. With these steps, we will continue to strengthen this journey with new projects we will implement together. And the projects, dreams, and R&D efforts of our inventors will gradually transform into economic value and accelerate Türkiye's development journey. As Turkey grows stronger and technological efforts for the benefit of humanity intensify, I believe that the world will become a more livable place."

DHA

Reporter: News Center