Ankara: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday announced Trkiye's new AI Action Plan at the Trkiye Artificial Intelligence Summit in Istanbul, outlining a 2026-2030 roadmap to boost the country's digital capacity. The summit took place at Tersane Istanbul, a historic shipyard site dating back to the era of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II, also known as Mehmed the Conqueror.
According to Anadolu Agency, Trkiye will mobilize at least $10 billion in primarily private-sector investment for data centers, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure under the new plan. Erdogan highlighted the country's goal to increase its installed data center capacity to at least 1 gigawatt by 2030, with a minimum of 2% of public investment programs allocated to AI projects.
The action plan aims to position Trkiye among the leading countries in AI technologies. Erdogan emphasized the inseparability of political, military, and economic power from digital sovereignty, noting digital capacity as a force multiplier. Trkiye has been proactive in recognizing this technological transformation and shaping policies accordingly. Significant steps like Trkiye's 5G launch, the establishment of the Cybersecurity Presidency, and the upcoming launch of the indigenous communications satellite Turksat 6A in 2024 were cited as bolstering digital independence.
Over the past 23 years, Trkiye has developed a major innovation infrastructure, including more than 1,700 research, development, and design centers, 114 technoparks, and over 13,000 technology companies. Erdogan announced plans to make at least 2,000 public datasets available to citizens through a National Data Library, covering sectors such as health, agriculture, defense, and e-commerce.
The plan will create a regulatory framework protecting users' rights and providing predictability for investors, based on a proportional and risk-based approach. Trkiye will train 10,000 advanced AI specialists and 100,000 AI application professionals. AI literacy workshops will be launched in all 81 provinces, aiming to train 5 million citizens within two years. The National Artificial Intelligence Literacy Program will ensure that people of all ages understand and safely use AI.
The AI Action Plan is built on four main pillars - 'discover, benefit, produce and govern' - with complementary actions under each. Under the 'benefit' pillar, AI will be turned into concrete value across public services, industry, education, health, agriculture, and security. Legal regulations will ensure data centers meet international standards and energy efficiency requirements.
E-government is highlighted as a transformation area where citizens can directly experience AI-supported public services. Small and medium-sized enterprises will receive support through AI vouchers, particularly in priority areas like health, energy, and smart manufacturing. Under the 'produce' pillar, Trkiye will develop its own AI models, establish AI growth zones, and support research and startups with national AI research and growth funds.
Erdogan mentioned ongoing work on Turkish large language models to enhance digital sovereignty, citing TUBITAK's local language model Bilge as an example. He also referred to large language model projects by the T3 Foundation and Baykar, and HAVELSAN's model on the MAIN platform. Under the 'govern' pillar, Istanbul will be positioned as an international showcase and investment diplomacy city for AI. Terminal Istanbul will serve as a meeting ground for entrepreneurs and global investors.
Trkiye will play an active role in shaping human-centered AI standards at international platforms like OECD, G20, and UN. Collaboration with the Organization of Turkic States will focus on developing a joint Turkic large language model encompassing Oghuz, Kipchak, and Karluk languages.
