ISTANBUL
Türkiye announced its new comprehensive action plan to become a global artificial intelligence (AI) center by advancing technological independence and integrating innovative solutions across strategic sectors.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed the circular regarding the 2026-2030 Türkiye AI Action Plan and published it in the Official Gazette on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Industry and Technology coordinated the new roadmap to update the vision of the country in line with technological sovereignty and sustainable digital transformation goals.
The government designed the framework around four main stages, titled notice, utilize, produce and manage, to cultivate a reliable ecosystem.
Notice: Building awareness and talent
The initiative aimed to provide AI literacy training to five million citizens across 81 provinces within two years.
Authorities launched a national talent program to train 10,000 high-level experts and 100,000 application professionals.
Officials also planned to prepare at least 2,000 public datasets and establish a legal and ethical framework to protect user rights.
Utilize: Establishing infrastructure
Türkiye set a goal to increase its total data center installed computing power to one gigawatt by 2030.
The government allocated 20 million GPU-hours to researchers, startups and small businesses to democratize access to computing resources.
The plan mandated public institutions to dedicate at least 2% of their investment budgets to AI projects.
Sectoral pilot programs started in priority areas, primarily health, energy and smart manufacturing.
The government decided to establish AI growth zones in campuses with ready energy and infrastructure.
Officials created an AI research fund alongside a growth fund to finance domestic initiatives.
The roadmap encouraged developers to build and export Turkish sectoral language models and physical robotic solutions.
Manage: Leading regional diplomacy
Türkiye targeted attracting at least $10 billion in private sector-led AI and data center investments and the state planned to take active roles in international platforms like the OECD, G20 and United Nations.
Regional efforts included developing a common large language model for Turkic languages and operating regulatory sandboxes in at least five priority sectors.
Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacir stated that AI represents a new determinant of economic prosperity and sovereign borders.
Türkiye decided to act as a pioneer rather than a spectator in this global transformation, the minister said on Tuesday.
He noted that the country aimed to build an ecosystem that develops trustworthy products with its own values and scales solutions across strategic areas.
The minister added that Türkiye planned to utilize these opportunities at the highest level for the welfare of the nation and the common good of humanity.
