He spoke at the closing of the Aviation, Space and Technology Festival (TEKNOFEST) Southeast, organized at Şanlıurfa GAP Airport under the leadership of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the T3 Foundation.
"As Türkiye, we see developing the technologies we need with our own means as an integral part of our security and prosperity, as well as our struggle for full independence." Yılmaz said that there has been a revolution in the defense industry in the last quarter century under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Yılmaz stated that with this revolution, Türkiye gained its own design and production capability by overcoming the embargoes and restrictions imposed, and said, "We have now started to sell and export products to all over the world, which we could not buy from others by paying for them in the past. Last year alone, we had an export exceeding 10 billion dollars. We have become the 11th largest defense and aerospace exporter country in the world. Hopefully, we will raise our country among the top 10 countries in the near future. "Our national, domestic supply rate, which was around 20 percent in the past, has reached a level exceeding 80 percent today." he said.
Stating that there is a strong political will and solid leadership behind this great revolution and this great success, Yılmaz said, "The name of this is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. As a citizen, we express our gratitude to our President for the leadership he has led to realize this revolution, far from all political considerations. We say may God bless you." he said.
Yılmaz stated that they have come to the point where they can carry this revolution in the defense industry to other areas, and that they will spread the technological competencies obtained here to many civilian sectors, from health to energy, and increase the total added value of the economy to much higher levels, and said, "Do you know who will do this, you will do it, our young people will do it. I believe that there will be many Selçuk Bayraktars among you. We will see them not only in the defense industry, but also in agriculture, health and many civilian areas. The Century of Turkey will be the century of our national technology move. I hope Türkiye's Century will be the century of TEKNOFEST youth." he said.
"THIS IS THE Türkiye WE WANT TO SEE"
Explaining that more than 1 million 600 thousand contestants participated in TEKNOFEST this year, which started with approximately 20 thousand contestants in 2018, Yılmaz said, "Applications from 81 provinces show how broad human resources our claim to produce technology is based on. In this respect, TEKNOFEST has now gone beyond a normal festival and turned into a movement. It has turned into a very important movement, a giant movement. In the 15th festival held in Şanlıurfa, 14 "427 teams and more than 2 thousand competitors took part in the finals of the competition." he said.
Yılmaz explained that the experience areas and exhibitions at the festival brought together people with the production journey extending from Şanlıurfa's civilization accumulation to today's advanced technologies, and said, "Innovative practices in agriculture, animal husbandry and food, as well as our national air, land and sea vehicles, have demonstrated the technological level we have reached in different fields. It is an important part of our goal to raise the scientists and engineers of the future for our children to discover their interests and competencies at an early age and to have the opportunities and opportunities to develop them." made his assessment.
Stating that this excitement in Şanlıurfa shows how the youth of the Southeast evaluate the opportunities offered to them, he continued his words as follows:
"We see bringing together the young population of the region with education, science and production as one of the most important investments that will accelerate the development of our country. We follow our goal of a terrorism-free Turkey with the responsibility we bear towards the future of our young people. We want to direct all our energy to development and prosperity by permanently removing terrorism, which has killed our people for years, targeted our brotherhood, and wasted our resources, from our country's agenda. Our Turkish, Kurdish and Arab youth are no longer talking about terrorism, they are talking about how to develop technology together. New "They talk about products and innovative initiatives. This is the Türkiye we want to see."
Emphasizing that they are determined to increase the opportunities for young people and the agriculture, industry, tourism and technology potential of the Southeast by strengthening unity and solidarity in this process under the leadership of President Erdoğan, Yılmaz said:
"Development does not happen only with metropolises. Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir are of course important. But we believe in this: Total development. We will carry our country into the Turkey Century together by utilizing the potential of each of our 81 provinces at the highest and maximum level. The Turkey Century will be the century of brotherhood. The Turkey Century will be the century of technology. I hope the Türkiye Century will be the century of TEKNOFEST youth."
At the end of his speech, Vice President Yılmaz congratulated the young people who participated in the competitions and thanked the teachers, academics, non-governmental organizations, families of the young people and organization teams who guided the young people.
