Erdogan hails Turkish youth's interest in tech, science at Teknofest

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan praised Turkish youth's interest in technology, research and development, and science as he attended Teknofest, while the country's technology minister hailed the tech festival for boosting Türkiye's image.

"The scene we witnessed at Teknofest shows we have made a fruitful investment," Erdogan said, adding that in today's era, the value of a person is assessed by their skills and productivity, Anadolu reports.

"We are making our youth competitive with national technology events such as Teknofest," he said, noting that the Turkish youth can now send missiles into space.

Türkiye now has drones and fighter jets, and the dark times have been left behind, the Turkish leader said, adding that this year's Teknofest was planned in three cities to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Türkiye.

The event was held in Istanbul in May, welcoming 2.5 million visitors, which is a world record and will be organized in the Aegean city of Izmir from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1.

Teknofest kicked off in Ankara on Wednesday and will run through Sunday, showcasing a broad range of high-end technological innovations. It features exhibitions, workshops, airshows, competitions and seminars.

The event has been organized by the T3 Foundation and the Turkish Industry and Technology Ministry jointly since 2018, in cooperation with dozens of ministries, public institutions, private firms, and universities.