Türkiye increased its research and development allocation from 0.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) to 1.4 percent, thereby raising it from $1.2 billion to $16 billion per year, the Turkish industry and technology minister has said.

Mehmet Fatih Kacir, while attending Türkiye’s premier tech event TEKNOFEST 2025, said the country’s research and development human resources increased from 29,000 to over 290,000, while the number of technology parks rose from 2 to 113.

The five-day event opened its doors in the Turkish metropolis of Istanbul on Wednesday under the organisation of the Turkish Technology Team (T3) Foundation and Türkiye’s Industry and Technology Ministry.

Speaking at the opening of TEKNOFEST, Kacir said Türkiye’s research and development allocation reached the level of countries like Italy and Spain, adding there’s still more to go.

“We allocated significant resources and made tremendous investments in intellectual property this period, increasing the total intellectual property pool from 93,000 to 2 million registered IP rights, while the number of patent applications increased from only 414 last year to over 10,000,” he said.

“Economic independence is not possible without technological independence,” he noted, adding that Türkiye’s National Technology Initiative is a key component in achieving its “Türkiye Century” goals.