EUR 780 MILLION SUPPORT TO 88 PROJECTS

.Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank stated that they implemented the Competitive Sectors Program within the scope of the Pre-Accession Financial Assistance Instrument IPA, which they carried out together with the European Union, and announced that they provided 780 million Euros of support to 88 projects within the scope of the program.

Noting that as the Ministry, they support more sectors than any program within the scope of IPA can reach, Minister Varank said, “The use of EU funds will take place in a much more competitive environment in the coming period. We will now compete not only at the domestic but also at the international level.” said.

Minister Varank attended the Competitive Sectors Program Experience Sharing and Networking Workshop. In the event, where the Head of Financial Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Turkey Andre Lys also participated, Deputy Ministers of Industry and Technology Çetin Ali Dönmez and Mehmet Fatih Kacır; TUBITAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, TSE President Prof. Dr. Adem Şahin and Informatics Valley General Manager Ahmet Serdar İbrahimcioğlu and Boğaziçi University Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Naci İnci was also present.

Addressing names from the public, academia and business world, Minister Varank noted the following in his speech:

IMPORTANT LEVEL OF THE SUPPORT SYSTEM: In addition to national resources, we also actively use international resources. Chief among these is the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance – namely IPA, which we run together with the EU. We implement the Competitive Sectors Program within the scope of IPA and we see the Program as an important pillar of our support system. In this context, we have provided 780 million Euros of support to 88 projects so far.

WE ASK FOR NEW PROGRAMS: In the upcoming period, in addition to Horizon Europe, we also aspire to programs such as Digital Europe and Investment Europe, and we have started negotiation processes. When we consider these, we do not want IPA projects to be lost in a bureaucratic spiral. We are ready to do whatever we have to do in this regard. We expect steps from the EU to increase cooperation in this regard.

INTER-REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT: In the first period of the IPA program, we set as our main target to increase the competitiveness of the regions by reducing the inter-regional development disparities. During this period, we implemented 46 projects with a total budget of 520 million Euros in 43 cities from Hatay to Rize, from Van to Kastamonu. In the second period, we gave priority to project ideas that contribute to foreign trade balance and employment and aim to raise our country's place in global value chains. During this period, we supported 42 projects with a budget of approximately 260 million Euros.

FROM VACCINE TO AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES: These include projects in a wide variety of fields, from vaccine and drug development to autonomous vehicles, from the digital game industry to biofuels, from cancer-fighting to the digital transformation of our industry. At this point, I believe we should mention an important feature of the Competitive Sectors Programme. As the Ministry, we support more sectors than any other program within the scope of IPA can reach.

BIOBASED PRODUCT FROM WATER ALGAE: For example, the “Integrated Biorefinery for Bioeconomy-Oriented Development” project we carried out with Boğaziçi University. With this project, which started in 2020 with a budget of 5.5 million Euros, bio-based products with high export potential will be produced from algae. Established with the goal of zero waste, this facility will be the first carbon-negative integrated biorefinery in Turkey and Europe. The biofuels to be developed will contribute to reducing the dependence on petroleum and petroleum products. Hopefully, we are planning to open our facility in December.

EXPERIENCE SHARING IS IMPORTANT: The use of EU funds will take place in a much more competitive environment in the coming period. We will now compete not only in the country but also at the international level. For this reason, it is important that we expand the experience we have gained in completed and ongoing projects and carry it forward.

EUROPEAN GREEN AGREEMENT

Andre Lys, Head of Financial Cooperation of the EU Delegation to Turkey, who made a speech at the workshop, stated that the European Green Deal has ambitious goals and said, "The pandemic has shown us that innovative technology and international cooperation will be our biggest tools in overcoming the upcoming health and climate crises and will lead us to sustainable growth." said.

THANKS AND CONGRATULATIONS

Emphasizing that as the EU, both the Turkish private sector and the public's interest in reconciliation create happiness for them, Lys said, “Because we share our nature and we need to leave it clean to future generations. We thank Turkey for signing the Green Deal Action Plan, and of course we congratulate you for passing the Paris Agreement through Parliament, because these two complement each other.” he said.

Lys stated that the Competitive Sectors Program will bring the EU-Turkey relations to the best points and lead them to a greener economy, emphasizing that the program makes significant contributions to digital and green transformation.

Ministry of Industry and Technology European Union

Mustafa Erdoğan, General Manager of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Relations, and Bülent Özcan, General Manager of Financial Cooperation and Project Implementation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union Presidency, also gave speeches.